


Hooks and Horns

by ratclanqueen



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Engagement, F/M, Humor, Multi, VKs | Villain Kids (Disney), forget a prince mal wants a pirate, implied mal/ben, lil bit polyamorous, not the best at writing smut but here it is anyway, powerful Mal, the vks are one big family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 10:45:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 66,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18636583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratclanqueen/pseuds/ratclanqueen
Summary: Mal breaks up with Ben, realising she never truly loved him. Lost within herself again, it isn't until the new transfers from the Isle of the Lost arrive, that she feels like her old self. Mal finds herself entangled up in an old flame again, whose always had a hook in her heart!(I am popsie on FF.net and have only just got the hang on ao3 so I'm reposting on here as well!)





	1. Chapter 1

_19:54 pm - Mal and Evie's dorm room_

Stood at the bottom of her fourposter bed, Mal sighed deeply and crossed her arms in front of her, frowning down at the homework she had spread across the bottom of her bed. She was tapping her foot on the hardwood floor but her socks muted the repetitive thud.

"Mal, if you stare any harder it'll burst into flames," Evie teased from her desk, not bothering to turn around as she knew what she would find: a picture that was always the same after dinner. Evie held her right hand out and a pair of sharp fabric scissors floated across the room, straight to her waiting palm.

"You shouldn't do that, if somebody realised I was still casting spells for you, they would tell Fairy Godmother and she would freak," Mal told her roommate, turning on her heels and crossing their room to sit on Evie's unmade bed.

"Please," the daughter of the Evil Queen laughed, snipping around the fabric on her desk. "As if Ben would let Godmother send you back to the Isle."

Mal rolled her eyes and made a disgusted noise at the back of her throat and Evie finally turned to face her best friend. A dark eyebrow raised and Mal avoided Evie's intense stare.

"What's wrong? Did something happen between the two of you again?" Evie asked, a hand coming to rest on Mal's knee.

Ever since Cotillion, Mal and Ben had been trying to patch up their relationship and return to the same comfortable partnership they had shared before the disastrous period they had endured. Mal was struggling to keep up with the press and publicity that came with being a Lady of the court, even if her darker side had now been accepted.

"He was summoned to Aurora's castle just before dinner on urgent business," Mal scoffed, making quotation marks around the last few words. "I know this is Audrey trying to mess with me, but..." Mal trailed off, biting her lower lip and averting her eyes.

Evie stood up from her desk and sat next to her best friend, wrapping the girl in a hug. "But what M?"

Mal buried her head in the crooks of her friend's neck and took a calming breath. "But I don't care," she confessed into Evie's dark hair. With the confidence of not looking into her friend's eyes, she continued. "I don't feel for Ben like I did. I was happy earlier when he said he wouldn't be here to welcome the new kids from the Isle. I like being on my own with the VKs, I feel like myself."

Evie placed her hands on Mal's shoulders and pushed the other girl back so they could see each other again. "You've fallen out of love with him," Evie breathed quietly, slightly sad at the deterioration of their relationship but she cared more about Mal.

"I don't think I was ever actually in love," Mal's fingers began to play with the gold ring on her right pointer finger. She sighed once more and whispered a spell, the green light of her magic engulfing the ring and when it retreated, one of Mal's costume rings were in its place. "I returned his ring to his collection a few nights ago but he hasn't noticed yet."

"Evie's shoulders dropped. She had been so busy with her school work, making her own designs and spending time with Doug that she hadn't realised her best friend had been so unhappy.

"I'm sorry," Evie apologised and Mal laughed, sniffing and wiping away some unshed tears.

"It's alright, I've been hiding it well I guess," Mal shrugged.

Evie pondered for a moment before perking up and smiling brightly. "Let's do something tonight, just us four, before the new Isle kids come tomorrow," Evie suggested, standing up and pulling Mal up as well. The blue-haired teen squeaked happily when Mal nodded slowly and she went to her closet, rooting through the garments until she found two hangers wrapped in dust covers. Evie placed one on her bed and the other on Mal's. Smirking widely, Evie gestured to the zipper and clapped in delight at Mal's reaction.

A pale purple skirt made from buttery leather had small flat studs along the seams and complimented a jacket of Evie's design. The jacket was long and Mal guessed it would hit her legs a few inches above the knee. It too was made of leather, but it was black and nipped in at the waist, flowing into a skirt-like shape after that.

When Mal looked up from the garments, Evie was already dressed in a short blue dress, accents of gold running through the cotton she had used as the main material. "Come on, let's get you ready and go get the boys. We'll blow this popsicle stand tonight and have some fun," laughed Evie when she held up a pair of dark purple shoes for Mal who was drooling at the sight.

_22:47 pm - Jay and Carlos' dorm room_

Carlos shot a dark look in Jay's direction, envious that he had been able to sleep through the loud knocking that echoed around their dorm room.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he whispered harshly to the door, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as Dude cocked his head. Carlos had only just nodded off when he was woken up by the knocking. He unlocked the door and pulled it open, frowning at the two girls on the other side who were grinning at him, only slightly guilty at waking him up.

"Nice PJs," smirked Mal as she gently pushed past him to make her way into the room. Evie followed closely behind, both tottering in heels so high that Carlos winced. He blushed slightly, looking down at his red pyjamas, the shirt and the pants both spotted with black dots.

Mal leapt onto Jay's bed, knees either side of his torso and her hands going to his shoulders to shake him awake. Evie's melodic laugh was loud in the quiet room and it made Carlos snap to attention.

"What are you two doing?" Carlos hissed, shutting his door quickly and looking between the two girls. "Why are you dressed up?"

"We're going out, right now in fact," Evie replied, going over to the boys' closets and picking out some clothes. "Come on, get changed," she punctuated her command by throwing the clothes right into Carlos' shocked face.

"Huh, what's going on? Mal?" Jay's croaky voice made the girl on top of him snicker. She clambered off him and went to stand next to Evie, the two girls looking at the boys with raised eyebrows. Evie sighed and threw Jay some clothes, tapping her foot to indicate her waning impatience.

"Mal needs cheering up so we are going into the village, maybe find a nice little tavern and we will have some drinks, laugh, do what we used to do back on the Isle," Evie told the two boys as Carlos looked warily at the clothes in his hand and Jay climbed out of bed.

"It's a good job it's a Friday night," Jay joked, following along with Evie's request and changing from his pyjamas into the pants and jacket she had thrown his way, unfazed at the thought of leaving Auradon Prep's vast campus.

"Jay!" Carlos said in disbelief. "What makes you think we are going to sneak out? I am not being sent back to the Isle because of you two!" he cried shaking his fist which had a t-shirt in.

Mal's face softened and she turned to Carlos. "We won't get caught, I promise you. Please, we haven't done something with just us four and I think I will go insane if I don't break a rule soon," she all but begged and reluctantly, the white-haired boy could see the sadness in Mal's eyes.

"I don't feel like myself and I just need one night as though we're still at home," she said softly and Carlos' anger dissipated and he hugged her into his chest, resting his head on her collarbones as she towered over him in her heels. The younger boy had always felt close to Mal and he could tell she had been struggling recently, especially after Cotillion.

"Where are we gonna go then," he smirked and the two girls laughed and smiled, talking quickly at the same time to try and get the two boys caught up on what had happened with Ben and the tavern Evie had heard off.

Carlos' eyes went wide as they flooded him with information whilst he got changed, some more personal and in-depth than he needed to know, and Jay nodded along, looking as though he caught every word as they left the boys' dorm room and began to sneak out of the school.

_Sometime after one am - The Snuggly Duckling_

After sneaking off of the campus via a tunnel so that they didn't disturb the magical barrier, the group had trekked through the Mysterious Forest, following hastily scribbled directions on the back of Evie's hand. The quartet had stumbled across the tavern The Snuggly Duckling and had settled in for a drink or two. The owner, a man named Ducky, had managed to set up his pub on the mainland with the help of his friend, Rapunzel and due to his villainous roots, he turned a blind eye to the four underage drinkers and settled them into a secluded booth at the back of the smoky pub.

A few drinks turned into a boisterous game of darts with some of the pubs' regulars and after a few hours, Carlos realised the time and had dragged his friends from the tavern, all slightly drunk from the ample supply of mead Ducky seemed to be giving them. They assured the thug that they would return soon and had been bid a hearty goodnight from the landlord.

On the walk back, the four linked arms and helped support each other as they slowly sobered up. The dark trees failed to intimidate them as they had grown up among worse places on the Isle. They chatted and laughed, joked and teased each other to occupy the hour it took to walk back to the school.

One by one, they scrambled under the roots of an ancient oak tree, carefully worming their way through the small underground passage and emerging back on the campus, underneath the magical barrier and back on the school grounds. When they had all climbed out of the small tunnel, the four slowly crept back across the grounds, all of them as sober as they had left.

Mal and Evie thanked the boys, pecking them both on the cheek as they dropped them off at their dorm window, watching the pair climb the drainpipe and then to their open window, laughing quietly as they hoisted themselves through the window.

"I feel like me again," Mal told Evie as they began to walk back to their own dorm, forced to brave the corridor as neither girl had left a window open.  
Evie held the door open for Mal and grinned at her. "It's good to have you back," she whispered in reply, reaching out and squeezing her hand as the made it to their door.

"So it is," the annoyed voice of Fairy Godmother startled the two girls and they jumped, Evie letting out a small shriek in surprise. "Do you know what time it is?" The fairy asked and the pair turned on their heels to come face to face with the woman.

"Uh..." Mal stalled, looking between the pyjama wearing Godmother and her best friend who looked like a deer in the headlights. Mal knew she must be frightened in case she was sent back to the Isle. "I apologise Fairy Godmother, I made Evie take a walk around the grounds with me because I couldn't sleep," she lied quickly, returning the pressure to Evie's hand to try and reassure her.

"Dressed like that?" Fairy Godmother noted with a deadpan voice, looking the two girls' outfits up and down. "Go to bed Evie, I would like to speak with Mal alone," Godmother requested but her tone made the girls understand that the request was none negotiable.

Evie opened and closed her mouth a few times and then dropped her shoulders, quietly wishing Mal good luck and goodnight. The daughter of the Evil Queen unlocked their dorm room and closed it slowly as Mal and Godmother watched her go.

Godmother put a hand on Mal's shoulder and the teenager stiffened, the gesture an echo of how Maleficent would grip her hard enough to hurt. Godmother gasped and quickly let go, knowing she had evoked a dark memory for the girl.

"You will be serving detention and this will go on your record, not Evie's," she told the girl who relaxed and thanked her for sparing her friend. "But..." Godmother quickly interrupted Mal, a finger waving in front of her, "I know where you went and why Mal."

Mal dropped her head, a lock of purple hair falling on her face and she struggled to stop her eyes misting over with tears. A small sob escaped her and Fairy Godmother wrapped her in a hug, surprised that Mal didn't shake her off. Instead, the girl gripped the older woman and cried into her shoulder. She cried for her home, for feeling lost, for losing Ben and the fact that her mother now lived in a vivarium on her bedside table. The motherly contact she was wrapped up in made her heartache and burn.

"I feel so alone," Mal sobbed, a hiccup punctuating the words. "I don't belong here."

Fairy Godmother shushed and soothed her, rocking the girl from side to side slowly. "I know how hard it was for you, this change from the Isle to Auradon. I've watched you lose yourself since Cotillion and I know you try and hide it but I can see how sad you are. I wish you had come to me Mal," she told the girl, tucking her under her chin.

Mal pulled back and Godmother wiped a few tears away, cupping her face in her hands. "I think I broke up with Ben," Mal told her. "I told him I loved him but I don't know what love is. I never have. My mother doesn't love me, she broke me." Godmother sighed and nodded, pocketing the information about Mal's childhood away.

"Tomorrow the new transfers from the Isle will arrive, maybe helping them settle in will help you," Godmother suggested and Mal nodded in agreement, so slow it was as if the thought exhausted her. "Go to bed Mal, I will see you tomorrow at ten in my office and we can sort your punishment out."

Mal thanked her quietly and opened her door, leaning against the wood when she had closed it.

"M," Evie called out and Mal sniffed, wiping her nose and face to try and mask her earlier crying. "Come here," ordered Evie as she pulled her covers back. Mal smiled, watery tears blurring her vision again. She unbuttoned her skirt and pulled her t-shirt over her head, reaching for a thick sweater and putting that on instead. Mal crossed their room and slipped into the warm bed beside her friend, allowing Evie to hug her middle as she cried.

"Thank you," she whispered and Evie dropped a kiss on her shoulder to show that she had heard.

"Try to sleep, the sun will rise in a few hours and we need to be up for breakfast," Evie reminded her, her voice already thick with sleep.

Mal nodded and the pair fell into silence, and then into a deep sleep, lulled by the sound of each others breathing and warmth. Mal's last thought was that she would never be able to express her gratitude to her friends, the VKs. She had made it through the last few months because of them, because of their friendship. Mal hoped that they truly knew how much she cared for them.


	2. Chapter 2

9:54 am - Fairy Godmother's office

"Mal and Evie had taken two seats outside of the headmistress' office after being directed to by one of Fairy Godmother's assistants. Both girls had woken up later than usual after their adventurous night out and were dressed in comfy clothes as they had been running late and were close to missing breakfast.

"Evie's usually polished look had vanished and instead she wore some black leggings and a blue sweatshirt with the school's crest embroidered on the back in a golden thread. Despite that, she still managed to look cute and put together as her hair was intricately braided into a crown. Mal on the other hand, had simply grabbed the first clean outfit she saw. Mal's grey sweatpants belonged to Jay so she had been forced to roll them over at the waistband so that she wouldn't trip. Along with that, a simple black tank top and her school hoody finished the look. As she sat in the pristine main building, after being sneered at by the smartly dressed reception girl, she was wishing she had gone back to the dorm and changed.

"Evie picked up on Mal's nervous energy easily, knocking her friend's foot with her own to make her stop jerking her leg. Mal blinked and snapped back to attention, halting the bouncing of her knee and shooting her best friend a crooked smile, knowing how much the habit annoyed her.

"Sorry, I just want this to be over with. I feel underdressed," Mal told her, using her own foot to knock against Evie's. Soon the pair were struggling to control their giggles as they fought with their feet, trying to pin one another's foot down under their boots.

"Evie, Mal," Fairy Godmother called, sticking her head out from her office door. The pair quickly stood up, shuffling and picking at their informal wear in front of the Headmistress. "Why don't you two come on it," the fairy suggested, retreating back into the office so that the girls could follow.

"Inside, the walls were dark mahogany and large bookshelves had been built into the wood, a vast collection of books going from waist height to the ceiling, broken only by the single door and three picturesque windows behind a matching mahogany desk. Fairy Godmother took a seat behind the large, cluttered desk and motioned to the two leather back chairs in front of her, smiling warmly as the girls took their seats.

"Mal's eyes drank in the desk in front of her. There were knick-knacks and trinkets, a framed photograph of Jane and stacks of papers held down by shimmering stones covering every inch of it. Godmother rooted around the clutter and pulled a scroll out from a small basket of others and Mal wondered how she knew which one it was as they all looked the same.

"These are a copy of the school rules and just handy things to know. I of course will also be there to welcome the new transfers but I would like you Mal, to take the lead in introducing them to Auradon Prep," Godmother began straight away, waving her fingers and magically duplicating the scroll. She passed them to the two girls and then rested her elbows on the desk, clasping her hands in front of her with a smile.

"What time will they be here?" Evie questioned, taking all three scrolls and putting them into her purse.

"Fairy Godmother glanced over her shoulder out into the courtyard and then back to the girls. "Around five minutes or so, so I suggest going down to the statue and waiting there. I will meet you in the foyer of the main building in twenty minutes."

"Mal swore under her breath when she realised she wouldn't have any time to change. "Who are the new students?" she asked, crossing her fingers and hoping that it wouldn't be a select few.

"The daughter of Drusilla, Dizzy Tremaine, " Godmother began, counting on her fingers. Evie gasped and gripped Mal's hand, beaming at the news. "The son of Gaston, Gil Gaston, and the son of Hook, Harry Hook."

"Both Mal and Evie sucked in a breath when Godmother mentioned the two pirates. "Uma isn't coming?" Mal questioned, venom dripping from her words which made Godmother bristle.

"No, she is currently serving a punishment for an illegal spell with King Triton in the East," Godmother clarified and she watched the two girls visibly relax. "Well, you should be going," she reminded them and they made their way to the door. "Oh and Mal," she said before they made it out of the door. The purple haired girl stopped and turned her head. "This is your punishment remember so no skipping this, and I expect to hear good things when you see me after dinner."

"Mal nodded once and joined Evie, rolling her eyes to make her friend laugh. Mal readjusted her baggy sweatpants and rearranged the hood on her unzipped Auradon Prep hoodie before she linked her arm through Evie's and they left the main building, laughing together and throwing dirty looks at the receptionist who shivered as they passed.

10:03 am - The courtyard in front of the Beast's statue

"Jay was leaning against the stone plinth the statue towered on, throwing a small ball from one hand to another, listening to Jane rattle her schedule off quickly to Carlos who tried to stifle his yawn.

"Did something happen last night? All four of you VK's have been yawning all morning. I thought you were going to fall asleep in your porridge this morning," Jane asked Carlos, poking his shoulder when he finished yawning.

"What are you on about? It's just been a busy week that's all," he scoffed, poking her back and making her smile. "Come on then, tell me again what's going on," Carlos said to distract her.

Jane fell for it and reopened her tablet, swiping and scrolling until she found what she was looking for. "New transfers arrive at five past ten, then a guided tour by Mal, followed by lunch at twelve in the dining hall and then... Mal! Evie!" Jane broke off, rushing to the two girls and greeting them with quick, one-armed hugs. "Evie, have you seen Doug?"

Evie shook her head and pouted for a moment, rooting around in her purse to pull out her phone. "Oh," her eyebrows rose and a smile came to her face. "He messaged me a few moments ago, he should be he-" Evie cut herself off when Doug skidded into view, gasping and struggling for breath.

"Hey," he huffed, pecking her cheek and nodding to the boys. "Are they here yet? I'm not late am I?"

"Jay nodded his head towards the drive and the sleek black limo that was winding its way to the front of the school. The VKs shared a look before standing together behind Jane who was clutching her tablet tightly. Doug patted her shoulder to reassure her. Together, the six had come to stand in a line, each expressing different levels of enthusiasm for the new students.

Mal and Jay had their arms crossed, both with hard expressions. Carlos had his hands in his pockets and his head dropped back, eyes closed and his stance relaxed. Evie was next to him, gripping Doug's hand and bouncing on her toes. Doug smiled at his girlfriend's infectious joy and next to him, Jane was biting her lip.

The limousine came to a stop in front of them, a driver exiting the front cab to open the passenger door. As soon as it opened, Dizzy was out, launching herself into Evie's open arms, both squealing in excitement at being reunited.

"Everyone, this is Dizzy, the best jewellery designer on the Isle," Evie smiled as she introduced the girl and Dizzy waved to everyone, pushing her glasses further up her nose. Mal winked at

"Hi, I'm Jane," the daughter of the Fairy Godmother introduced herself, holding out and hand to the young girl. "I'll help show you around if that's alright." Dizzy nodded and hugged Jane as well, the ear to ear smile never leaving her face.

"Dizzy, this is Doug, my boyfriend," Evie told her when she had untangled herself from Jane. "He's also going to keep an eye on you for the first few weeks."

Dizzy blushed and nodded, allowing Doug to pick up her hand and kiss her knuckles as Evie laughed at the interaction.

"Ever the gentleman," she whispered into his ear.

Jay hit Carlos in the stomach when Gil emerged from the limo, his face smeared with chocolate, much like Carlos' had been when he had arrived. The son of Gaston smiled to the group, holding out a hand for Jay to shake. The ex-thief looked at him warily, slowly sliding his hand into Gil's, shaking it firmly.

"Hi," Gil grinned, swallowing the last of the chocolate he had taken from the limo. "Do you want some?" He held out his hand to the boys, offering some of the chocolate wrapped in gold paper. Jay and Carlos smirked and took a piece, thanking Gil.

"We're in the dorm next to yours so if you want, we can swing by and pick you up for dinner," Carlos offered, hesitant but remembering the work Jane had put into the transferal of the students and how Gil had been on the island.

Gil smiled and nodded. "Thanks, and I'm sorry about Uma," he said, pocketing the rest of the candy. "It must be hard seeing us again."

"We've known each other since childhood Gil, we all have things to apologise for," Jay told him, allowing Gil to join him in the line so that the last student could exit the car.

Mal sucked in a breath and stared when the leather-clad boots of the final student swung out of the car. Evie shot Carlos a worried look as Harry Hook, an already notorious pirate, stepped into the sun. His red leather coat was slung over his broad shoulders but it failed to mask the sword strapped to his hip. He looked into the bright sunlight for a moment, tilting his head into the warmth before he set his hat on his head and looked at the welcoming committee.

Harry stood above six foot and looked both intimidating and relaxed in front of the students. He grinned wolfishly at Jane as her eyes widened at the sight of his sword peaking out from under the tails of his long coat. When he finally withdrew his left hand from behind him, Doug had to grip Jane's arms when she stumbled at the sight of the sharp, silver hook.

"Oh darlin', if that gets you weak at the knees then we're in for a lot of fun," he smirked at her, following the comment with a wink that made both Jane and little Dizzy blush. His accent was thick and it made Mal shake her head minutely to clear it of the hazy fog that had engulfed her once she heard it.

"Knock it off Harry," Evie scolded, reaching forward and flicking his bare bicep since the sleeves had been ripped off at the seams like she had done when they had been children. Harry looked at her and laughed, crowing almost as Evie raised an eyebrow.

"Ya missed me, Evie? I know I've missed you, me bed was so cold whilst ya were gone," he teased, falling back into the same flirtatious routine the two had shared whilst growing up.

Evie rolled her eyes as Doug stiffened beside her, something that didn't go amiss by Harry. He laughed at the half-dwarf and turned his attention to the rest of the line as the driver excused himself to collect the luggage.

"Looking good for saying you just lost a captain. Selfish and rude, haven't changed a bit then I see," Carlos ran a tongue over his teeth, disdain evident in his voice.

"Between having me own vessel and a crew, I guess I forgot to grieve the loss of a greedy captain," Harry replied coolly, his ocean eyes sliding to Carlos' dark ones. "Still a runt I see."

"Cool it. You're in our territory now and lucky to be here at all," Jay stepped in, reminding the pirate of his place.

Gil walked up to his friend, whispering something in his ear. Harry turned his head to look at Gil and nodded once.

"I owe ye an apology," was all he said to Carlos, not elaborating on it further but there was a certain sense of hostility to the forced apology that even Harry couldn't hide.

Mal couldn't help but scoff at his words and her spine turned to steel when Harry finally looked at her. Mal's heart doubled in pace and she struggled to keep from ringing her hands together with an anxious energy that always seemed to bubble over when she was in the pirate's presence.

"And what about you my little Dragon, have you missed me?" Harry crooned, tracing the outline of her face with his hook. The cool metal helped calm Mal and she felt slightly annoyed when Jay's hand shot out and stopped Harry's arm. It was a gesture he had made numerous times in their past, each filled with a crooked smile and bright eyes. This time was no different.

"No weapons. No swords and no hook," Jay said, releasing Harry's arm once the pirate had stepped back from Mal, never breaking the intense eye contact.

Harry pouted momentarily and then grinned again in spite of Jay's words. "I've already seen the Fairy, she's cast some shit to make sure I can't hook anyone so the hook stays, so does the sword," he replied, twisting his left hand so that the hook glinted in the sun, his eyes never leaving Mal's.

"Language!" Jane gasped and this only added to Harry's amusement. Mal frowned and then pinched the back of her hand, focusing herself on the punishment she had been given and not the ex-lover standing in front of her. She blinked and looked away, failing to see Harry's wicked grin.

"Come on, we'll show you around," Mal said, ignoring the pirate and holding out a hand for Dizzy who took it eagerly.

Evie took the young girl's other hand and the three lead the way, trusting Gil and Harry to follow. Carlos and Jane struck up a friendly conversation with Gil as Jay and Harry stood toe to toe, staring at each other intimidatingly.

"You heard her," Jay told him calmly. "She may not be the queen of the Isle anymore but she still holds the same power, so follow."

Harry cocked an eyebrow, raising his hook to tilt his hat, the feather brushing along Jay's forehead until he took a step back and swatted it away.

"Of course your highness," the pirate mocked, still grinning as he followed the group, leaving Jay behind. Jay had to take another step back to avoid being hit in the shins with the bottom of Harry's sword. "I haven't forgotten about the power she wields," Harry called out behind him.

Swearing under his breath at having accidentally backed down from their power struggle, Jay trudged after the welcoming committee, glaring at the pirate's back.

11:48 am - The upper floor of the Main Building

"And this is the art classroom," Mal told Dizzy, opening the door to reveal a massive room filled with canvases, statues, materials and paints. Dizzy gasped and clapped her hands, her eyes scanning every inch of the room.

"It's massive!" she exclaimed in awe.

Evie chuckled. "It used to be a ball room but there is already one downstairs and this was small so..." Evie shrugged and then grinned. "Dizzy, do you see that table over in that far corner," she asked, pointing to the workstation over Dizzy's shoulder. "That is for metal work so you can start making your own designs."

Dizzy wiped away a tear and pulled the two older girls into a bear hug, burying her face into their torsos. "Thank you," she cried as Mal and Evie looked at one another with panicked expressions. Evie returned the hug eventually whilst Mal patted the younger girl's head, unsure of what to do. Her stomach was twisting itself into knots and Mal didn't know why.

"You belong here Dizzy," Jane spoke up, smiling at the girl. "I for one can't wait to see what you create."

Behind the four girls, the boys were trailing, none really that interested in the classrooms. Gil was eager to see his dorm room and was asking Jay and Carlos question after question about the rooms, the classes, the food and the sports.

Mal turned to watch him punctuating each question with wild hand gestures, just like he had when he had been a child. It sobered Mal to think that the villains had all grown up together. She knew Gil and his friends, tormented them even when she was still on the Isle. She had teased and bullied him for the lisp he had suffered from as a child but now that she listened to him, she realised he had overcome the impediment. Gil had grown up.

"He's going to have Carlos' eye out if he doesn't stop waving his hands around," Evie commented and Mal nodded slowly.

"For saying he's Hook's best friend, they couldn't be more different. I mean, Hook would really have someone's eye out," Dizzy laughed, referring to Harry by his surname.

Mal gasped, realising what felt so wrong. She couldn't see the pirate. Mal gripped Evie's wrist tightly, looking up and down the corridor frantically.

"Ow," complained Evie as Mal's nails began to dig into her skin.

"Where's Harry," Mal hissed, clicking her fingers to get Jay's attention. The boy excused himself from Gil and Carlos and joined to the pair, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"What's up?"

"Where is he?" Mal bit out, still gripping Evie.

"Who?" Jay replied, looking at the group of students. Mal and Evie watched him scan the corridor and then tense up, the muscle in his jaw becoming more pronounced when he realised who had slinked off. "I'll go find him, you two head to lunch," he told them, his voice deadly and cold.

Mal shook her head and gripped his bicep. "I'll go. I was supposed to be showing them around and Fairy Godmother will blame me if he causes any trouble," she told them. Evie nodded, rubbing the wrist Mal had finally released.

"If you still can't find him after lunch we will all come and help," Jay assured her, not liking the idea of Mal and Harry alone together but he knew better than to tell the witch what to do./p  
p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;""I'll save you some food and put it in our room, okay?" Evie asked, wrapping an arm around Dizzy as the group began to descend the staircase to the dining hall for lunch.

Mal nodded and went the other way down the corridor, using her shoulder to open a thin wooden door that led to a spiralling stone staircase. It ran connected to multiple passageways and other corridors and was the fastest way to get around the main building. Quickly climbing down the steps, Mal went over all of the places on the campus, trying to decide where Harry might have wandered off to.

She only encountered a few other people when she used a second-floor passageway so that she could cut across the building to leave by one of the south exits. Mal crossed her fingers hoping she would find the pirate before he found trouble.


	3. Chapter 3

12:15 pm - The Woods and the Beach Front

After twenty or so minutes of the tour, Harry was bored. He had fallen to the back of the group, waiting for the right moment he could slip off unnoticed. Eventually, as they passed the games fields, Gil had sucked Jay and Carlos into a discussion about the sports played at the school and Jay forgot all about the pirate.

Harry bent down to readjust his boot, using his hat to shield his face from the group of students making their way back up to the main building for what he presumed was lunch.

He glanced over at the VKs and then fell in step with a passing student, using the boy and his friends as cover to slip into the wooded area that bordered the school. Harry pulled his hat off and sighed, leaning against an ancient tree trunk for support.

He missed his home, his ship docked in the harbour at the Isle. When he had been offered a place at Auradon Prep, Harry had had to fire his crew and pay a sea witch some hefty bribery money to cast a spell upon his vessel, shrinking the boat until it fit into an empty bottle.

Reaching into his coat, Harry's fingers wrapped around the neck of the clear bottle, pulling it out and levelling it in front of his face. His ship, a beauty he had worked for since he was ten, the emSailing Grace/em cruised in the inch of sea water within the bottle. Her golden sails were flapping as if there were a strong breeze and Harry watched the waves lap at her sides.

Harry could still remember the horrible and cruel things he had done for his father to secure the ship. The blood on his hands haunted him but the attachment he felt to the vessel in his hands was worth the reputation and the torment.

He had always been on a crew. His fathers and then Uma's, rising to be her first mate. The problem was that Uma was heavily tied to the Isle, her mother's tentacles never allowing the young girl to stray far out to sea. It had caused Uma to be greedy and she hadn't known when to stop.

Harry regretted being apart of the King's capture but the rise he had gotten from his old Captain when he had told her that Mal and the VKs had returned had been worth it.

Harry missed the sea. The salty air that would rustle through his hair and the freedom he felt when he was stood in the crows nest. He never felt as alive as he did hanging off the mast, looking out across the sea with the wind on his face. He missed being able to sail even if it was only around the Isle of the Lost. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept on dry land having taken permanent residence in the captain's quarters of The Grace.

If it was possible, Harry felt landsick. He stoked the pad of his thumb over the glass and gently pocketed the bottle once more, tapping it for luck as he had grown accustomed over the past week to its weighty presence.

"Soon," he told himself, pushing off of the trunk with his foot and setting off down the small beaten track, through the woods and the undergrowth. The canopy above him was thick and full of life, worlds away from the urbanisation on the Isle.

If he closed his eyes, Harry could pretend that he was in a faraway jungle, exploring the globe on his ship. He crowed loudly and unsheathed his sword, using the blade to hack away some vines and shrubbery as he delved deeper through the wood. Harry suddenly broke into a run, using his hook to swing from low hanging branches or plunging it into the trees, using it as an anchor as he sharply changed direction. He leapt over fallen branches and climbed through the hollowed out trunk of a long dead tree, feeling as though he was ten years old again.

After some time, when his heart rate had doubled and his breathing became laboured, the pirate slowed to a jog, tilting his head to listen to the noisy wildlife around him. He swore when the faint call of a seabird carried on the wind.

Harry began to run blindly again, brandishing his sword to cut down the plants in his path. He could hear a sea bird and so that meant the sea itself would be close. The urge and overwhelming desire to swim overtook him as he ran, sprinting as fast as he could until he burst from the woods onto a shoreline.

It was a mixture of smooth, flat pebbles and sand, the sea foam clinging to the rocks that bordered the woodland. He yelled in delight when the waves lapped at his boots and he hastily tugged them off along with the rest of his clothes and draped them on the closest branch to him.

His sword, hat, the bottle and his hook were then placed gently on the clothing, making sure they were well hidden and secure. Harry, in only his underclothes, then threw himself into the water, staying under until the need for air was burning his lungs.

He was a strong and confident swimmer and soon found himself quite a way out from the secluded beach, simply floating as the current kept him within a safe enough distance. The seabirds Harry had heard circled lazily overhead and as he swam back to the shallows, Harry could hear the unmistakable call of a dolphin further out, playing with its pod in the open waters.

"This is more like it," he said to himself, swimming back so that he could sit on the sandy beach, his legs and lower torso still submerged in the waves.

The same time - The Same Path

When Mal emerged onto the grounds of the castle, she ran a frustrated hand through her hair, blowing the purple strands out of her eyes. She had no clue where to start looking for the pirate and her rumbling stomach only annoyed her more.

"Gods above, this is an emergency," she told herself unconvincingly. Looking around, Mal quickly walked to the woodland that fringed the grounds of the school and pulled out her phone from her pocket. She glanced around making sure no one was watching as she opened up the device.

Swiping until she found the right app, Mal bit her lip in hesitation. In front of her on the bright screen were emergency spells, written out in case she didn't have access to her spell book. Now that the book was in the museum, Mal relied on the bank of magic she had recorded.

"I cannot search these ancient grounds, make it easy, show what needs to be found," she chanted, her eyes clouding over to their signature green, a sight that was reflected in the screen. The green magic in her fingers glowed and then shot out, as delicate and dainty as silk from a spider. One end was still wrapped around Mal's fingers, the other snaked through the woodland, disappearing through the trees.

"Shit," Mal swore, the thrill of the mild rule breaking calming her. Looking back to the school building once more, Mal pocketed her phone and pulled the material of her sweatpants up and began to follow the trail of magic that she hoped would lead her to the pirate, the last person she wanted to be alone with.

12:57 pm - The Secluded Beach

Harry was still sat in the sand, the waves making it divert around him each time they crashed onto the beach a few feet behind him.

In the sun, Harry's hair dried to its usual unruly curls and he relaxed for the first time since the King's kidnapping. He felt at home and at peace in the arms of the sea.

He was so content with allowing himself to get lost in the melody of the waves, the birds and the dolphin's pod, that he missed the sound of a branch snapping behind him. Mal had followed the green thread, the magic seeping back into her as she passed it.

In the cover of the trees, she simply looked at him. His muscled back had scars marring the tanned skin, the shiny scar tissue a few shades lighter. There were a handful of tattoos, some only symbols no bigger than a coin and other were streams of a script written in a language Mal couldn't read. They snaked around his ribs and shoulders, dipping down under his underpants, the cotton material moving with the current.

Mal took a careful step forward, wincing and freezing when the branch under her foot snapped. She shot a hand out to balance herself and her eyes widened when her fingers brushed along the leather of Harry's coat, his most treasured possessions piled on top of it.

She couldn't help herself and reached out to touch the hook, shrieking when Harry's voice spoke directly in her ear. He was right behind her, his wet lower body dripping onto her sweatpants and darkening the material as his fingers closed around her throat.

"Ye best be leavin' that where ye found it, savvy?" he threatened and Mal scratched the fingers holding her throat lightly. He let go, holding up his hand whilst the other slid into the hook.

"I came to find you," Mal told him, breathless from both fright and an emotion she couldn't name. "You went off without permission."

Harry laughed and Mal turned her back as he began to redress, pulling on his trousers and retying the sword belt around his narrow hips. "I didn't realise I had to ask the princess for permission," he teased when Mal glared at him, eyes wandering over his shirtless chest.

"Nice tattoo," she spat and Harry smirked looking down at his torso. There was a hook, much like the one in his hand, inked over his heart in an old-fashioned style.

"I know someone else with a nice bit of body art," was all he said, reaching for his shirt and coat. Mal's eyebrows furrowed at the comment but did not rise to it, she herself had a small sun on the curve of her foot which no-one at Auradon had seen. Instead, she watched the pirate retie his headscarf and put his hat back on, picking the bottle up and trying to put it away quickly.

"Whats that?" Mal blurted out, her hand rising to her mouth when Harry stopped fumbling with the bottle. "Is that a ship?" she asked slowly, stepping closer to look at The Grace forgetting the front she had put on.

"Aye, me own," Harry told her, reluctantly holding the bottle vertical so she could see the boat sailing in the storm within the glass. Harry didn't offer her any more information and put it back within the safety of its pocket.

Mal's hostile body language faltered. "I'm glad you got your own ship, Harry," she said sincerely. "I know how much it meant to you."

Harry scoffed and pulled on a boot, ignoring the history that he shared with the girl stood in front of him. "You would have been there to see her set sail the first time if you hadn't abandoned the Island."

Mal pursed her lips and glared at him. "Come on, we need to head back or Fairy Godmother will kill us both. This is not a beach that belongs to the school," she said coldly, heading back down the same path she had come, using the same green thread to retrace her steps.

"What makes you think I'm ever going back there? I'm off the island, I'm free," he called to her and she stopped in the path not bothering to turn to address him.

"You Harry Hook will never be free on dry land. Besides, if you don't follow me, I'll make you," she threatened, her eyes flashing the acidic green to emphasis her point when she turned her head. "You don't want to push me today pirate."

Harry whistled slowly, holding both hands up in surrender as he pushed past her. "Crabby I see," he snickered, sipping his hands like the crustacean and he quickly broke into a run. Mal let out a small scream of frustration and was forced to follow the same quick pace, thinking of different ways to kill him without being confined to the Island once more.

13:32 pm - Mal and Evie's room

"I hope she's alright," Evie said aloud to the room. Jane, Dizzy and Doug were talking animatedly about the school's extra curricular options whilst Jay and Carlos tried to explain the rules of tourney to Gil. Everyone had taken a seat somewhere around the girls' room, leaning against the bed frames, the window sills and on the floor.

Jay twisted from his seat on the floor to look at Evie laying on her bed. "Mal is more than capable of handling Harry Hook Evie, she's been doing it for years," he told her and Gil sniggered at the innuendo.

"Whats with those two anyway, you're all acting as though they shouldn't be allowed within ten feet of each other," Doug commented, looking at the VKs who all looked shifty.

"Mal and Hook dated a while ago," Dizzy told him which was met with Evie saying her name quickly, reprimanding the younger girl. "Oh sorry, I didn't know it was a secret," she said sheepishly, colour rising to her cheek.

"They did?" Jane exclaimed, still in the dark about Mal and Ben's relationship ship deterioration, looking at Evie for confirmation since she was Mal's best friend.

"Yeah, well, they didn't ever call each other boyfriend or girlfriend but they were together in every sense of the word," Carlos told them.

"Never spent more than two nights apart," Gil smirked, elbowing Carlos. "If you know what I mean."

Dizzy, Doug and Jane's eyes all widened and Jay punched Gil's shoulder.

"This is Auradon Gil, they don't do things like we did back home," he hissed and Gil nodded, dropping his head.

"What do you mean?" Doug questioned, looking at Evie whose cheeks were stained red.

"Dizzy, why don't you go and check out your room, it's the one to the left of ours," the daughter of the Evil Queen suggested, smiling tightly as Dizzy reluctantly got up and left, knowing this was a conversation she didn't need to hear. "She is ten years old, I will not have this kind of talk around her, do you understand," Evie snapped at the three VK boys on the floor who nodded guiltily.

"Evie, what did Jay mean we do things differently here," Jane asked quietly.

Evie sighed. "On the Island, things like physical relationships are not held in same high value as they are here. In Auradon, everybody is taught to wait until marriage but on the Isle, being with another person is a normal activity," she stuttered through the explanation, refusing to meet either of the Auradon kids' eyes.

"You mean Mal and Harry Hook..." Jane trailed off, gasping at the thought. "Have all of you..." she waved her hands around to try and finish the sentence.

"Not all of us no," Evie told her gently. "But most of those over sixteen on the Isle have."

Doug and Jane stared wide-eyed at the VKs since they were all over sixteen, Jay was nearing his nineteenth and the thought of him spending the past two years having pre-marital sex made Jane's head spin.

"I have if you are so curious," Jay confessed under their scrutiny and Gil nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up, I didn't realise it was such a big deal," Gil said, unfazed about the topic that was making Evie, Doug and Jane blush profusely.

"Have, have you?" Doug asked Evie and she bit her lip, looking over his shoulder instead of his face.

"Would you feel any different about me if I said I had?" she countered, finally looking at her boyfriend.

He was in deep thought before he pushed his glasses back up his nose. "I think I would be jealous that somebody else had seen you like that, but no, it wouldn't really matter to me," he told her honestly and she let out a deep breath.

"Only once, just so you know," she told him and he nodded, accepting the information without much of a fuss. Evie was a gorgeous girl and he couldn't blame her.

"Carlos? Have you?" Jane couldn't help herself, looking at the white haired teen who shook his head. Jane breathed out a sigh of relief. "Aren't you sad you didn't wait for a person you truly loved?" The ripple of laughter that went through the VKs made Jane frown.

"You have to understand we thought we were never getting off that island and so finding true love was never anybody's priority, besides, it's a normal human interaction," Jay told her, making her see it from his point of view.

"I still don't know," was all she said, her nose wrinkling slightly at the thought. "We better go find the pair of them then."

Evie and Jay shared a laugh as Jane rose from Mal's bed, determined to find the pair.

"Trust me, Mal and Harry practically hate each other now, the last thing you have to worry about is those two sneaking around," Carlos told her, standing up to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"Hate each other? Why?"

"Broke each other's hearts. Why do you think they're both so ruthless," Evie grinned wickedly in reply.

"Because now neither has a heart," Jay finished the old saying that had circulated around the teens on the Isle.

"Well, still, we better go and make sure they haven't killed each other or something," Doug reasoned and the group left Mal and Evie's room, making their way down to the tourney pitch to begin their search.


	4. Chapter 4

14:10 pm - The tourney fields

Evie and Doug had split off from the rest of the group, taking the eastern edge of the forest as it had been decided by Gil that the woods were the most likely place for Harry to have run off into.

Carlos, Jay and Gil were each taking a few hundred yards around the sides and finally, Jane had been joined by Lonnie and the two girls were checking the first few meters of the west side of the pitch.

When Carlos shouted that he thought he had found something, it took several attempts for everyone to make it through the undergrowth to where he was standing.

"Carlos?" Evie called, still hidden in the trees to his left.

"Over here, just follow the sound of my voice," he replied, cupping his hands around his mouth like a makeshift megaphone. Eventually, Evie and Doug appeared at the same time as Lonnie and Jane did, all four slightly disheveled from the off route path they had taken to reach him. Jay and Gil were already following the green trail Carlos had stumbled across so they followed the pair, keeping an eye out for broken branches and cut vines.

"The coast is this way," Jane realised and Evie smacked her forehead.

"Oh duh, of course, he's gone to the sea," she said to herself as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He's a pirate," she smiled widely knowing where he must have gone to.

The five who had been following the two older boys quickly caught up to them in an enormous clearing, the canopy opening to allow a large patch of sunlight to shine upon them.

"I doubt they've gone too f-" Jay paused, turning his head so fast his hair whipped him in the cheek. "Shush," he hissed, dropping to a crouch. Being an ex-thief and the best in the business, Jay had extremely sensitive hearing and his sudden hostility quickly put Evie and Carlos on edge.

The duo dropped to their knees, dragging down those around them. The undergrowth was thick and dense in the clearing, tall and vibrant due to the amount of sunlight it was bathed in so the group were easily concealed.

"What did you hear?" Lonnie whispered so quietly that Jay had to read her lips to understand her.

"It could have been an animal, there are some mountain lions around here," Doug told them, watching Jay intently as he began to stand from his crouch. The boy looked around slowly before his eyes widened comically.

From out of the dense woodland, Harry Hook appeared at the opposite side of the large clearing, sucking in a breath as he recovered from what looked like a run. A few seconds behind him Mal came sailing through the trees but she didn't stop. Instead, Jay watched the frustrated expression on her face morph into a wicked scowl as she continued running, leaping at the final moment onto Harry's back.

The pirate fell to the ground, Mal going with him and it was then that Jay ran to them, the rest of the search party quickly following him.

Mal's small fists were pounding into Harry's back as she swore and cursed him from her position, straddled over the back of his thighs. Harry was wriggling and attempting to turn over but somehow Mal had better leverage.

"Mal?" Evie huffed once she had caught up to Jay and the pair on the floor. She struggled to keep the laughter contained but it was Gil who broke first. His booming laughter causing some birds to scatter from the surrounding trees.

"Nice one H, being beaten up by a girl," he doubled over when Harry's head lifted from the ground, a bored expression on his face.

In one fluid movement, Harry had swung his legs up, kicking Mal between the shoulder blades and spinning them over, using his body to pin her back to the forest floor, her arms crushed under the weight of him as he lay back leisurely as if the girl underneath him was a deckchair.

With his hands behind his head, the point of his hook centimetres from Mal's right eye, he

"Get off her Hook," Carlos ordered feeling more confident with Jay and Gil by his side. Harry raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"You're probably squashing her you oaf," Evie cried, kicking his sides lightly so that he rolled off of Mal. The girl below was fuming, her green eyes blazing but she simply stood up and grabbed Evie, pulling her back out of the clearing and toward the school.

"I am going to end up strangling him or he's going to hook me, just you wait," Mal promised, too far in her own thoughts that she missed Evie's feline grin. This was the Mal she knew and loved, fierce and feisty and it seemed all she needed was a certain pirate to light her fuse.

"I can't wait," was all Evie said, slotting her fingers through Mal's without breaking their strides.

16:28 pm - Harry and Gil's room

Once Gil had talked Carlos and Jay out of beating Harry to a pulp, the group had set back off for the school, ten or so minutes behind Evie and Mal.

Jane and Doug avoided Harry walking quickly to the lead the group, but Lonnie walked right next to him not making conversation but listening to the dirty banter the pirate tried to goad her with. By the time they had arrived back at the tourney field, everybody was making excuses so that they could finish their last minute homework before the new term began on Monday. The students had been back for just under a week but it had been filled with team building activities instead of classes.

Doug, Jane and Carlos all left to secure places in the library, leaving Lonnie and Jay to show the two new transfers their room.

"This one is mine and Carlos'," Jay pointed to his dorm room door. "And this one is yours," he told Gil, opening the door directly opposite that.

Inside the walls were painted a royal blue, the lower half covered in the same oak panelling as every other dorm room. There were the standard four poster beds, each with their own desk and walk in closet on either side. Gil dived onto his bed, sighing happily as the mattress squashed underneath him.

"I've never had a proper mattress before," he said, bouncing up and down on it like a child making Lonnie chuckle.

Harry on the other hand went to the walk in closet, running a finger over his clothes that had already been hung up for him. He set his hat and sword down on a peg and then reentered the room, pulling the bottle from his coat and setting it on the bedside table next to his bed with care. Jay and Lonnie simply watched the two boys get aquatinted with the room.

"Those bags on your desks will be school supplies, you know, books and pens and things. They should also be a school issued electronic tablet, toiletries and some spare uniforms," Lonnie told them, pointing to their desks which stood back to back in the centre of the room.

"Uniforms?" Gil echoed.

"Yeah, like the socks, track pants, sweaters to just chill around in," Lonnie supplied, pointing to her own Auradon socks.

"Where's the bathroom?" Gil questioned next as he leafed through a textbook.

"Boys bathrooms are down the hall to the left. The girls rooms are on the floor above so you shouldn't get too confused," Jay told him. "I'll come get you for dinner around six so I'll leave you to it," he smiled at Gil who grinned back.

"Thanks mate," Gil said, absorbed in the reading material in front of him. Harry just nodded, turning back to his bedside to look at the bottle.

Jay and Lonnie closed the door and decided to head to the gymnasium to practise their fencing skills, leaving the two new students to explore the comforts of Auradon Prep.

16:45 pm - The Girls Bathroom

Mal's favourite part of Auradon Prep had to be the girl's bathroom. It seemed to span the entire length of the long wing the dorms were housed in and oozed luxury and decadence, a wild contrast to anything back on the Isle.

There were massive gold framed mirrors hanging from the intricately plastered ceiling, each held up by thick chains of golden loops on the right wall. Mal loved to look into the old glass, enjoying the way it distorted and darken her reflection due to its the centre of the room were a dozen sinks, split into two and facing each other in a line. Mal and Evie like to take the final pair and pull funny faces at each other whilst they brushed their teeth.

The final thing in the first part of the bathroom was a counter that ran the entire span of the left wall, with stools underneath which most of the students used like vanities, the newer mirrors installed above more favoured than the ancient ones across the room.

Mal was glad the bathroom seemed to be empty as she walked through the first third and through the double doorway into the shower room. There were twenty or so cubicles which each housed a shower and a small wooden bench but Mal ignored them and continued through another set of elegant double doors.

Behind was a little anteroom with multiple doorways. She crossed the stone floor to the third on the right like she always did, thankful that it was unoccupied. Inside the small room was a single long window, distorted and frosted so nobody could see in and a sunken bathtub that was built into the centre of the stone floor.

Mal hung up her fluffy towel and set down her toiletries on the bathtub's edge, flicking the taps on as she passed them. As the steam began to rise and fill the air, a fragrant perfume settled around her as the water mixed with the soap she had poured into the tub, bubbles soon multiplying and growing on the surface of the water.

Mal lit the dripping candelabra in the corner and untie her dressing gown, hanging that up alongside her towel. She carefully climbed into the bath, groaning as the warm water enveloped her sore muscles from all of the running she had done earlier in the day. This was her favourite past time whilst at school.

On the Island of the Lost, most had access to only cold water and only on the rare days when Mal had the time, patience and energy did she used her magic to fill a metal tub with lukewarm water. Baths were a rare treat when she had been growing up, a luxury few experienced.

Here at the school, there were hot showers and bathtubs large enough to swim in, as well as soft towels and liquids that made bubbles. The jasmine scented products were Mal's favourite and often she couldn't help but pour in too much of the silky soaps.

She spent an hour in the bath simply relaxing, slowly kneading out her worn muscles and washing her hair until it felt like silk in her hands. When she realised her fingers and toes had shrivelled to resemble prunes, Mal held her nose and dunked under the water, felling along the bottom of the tub for the plug to drain the cooling water and bubbles.

As the bathwater drained incredibly slowly, Mal lathered a flannel with her favourite jasmine soap and began scrubbing her body down. She washed away the heartache Ben caused, the pain the thoughts of her Mother brought. She wiped away the tear tracks from yesterday and the insecurities she had felt. She rubbed away the anger Harry Hook brought and tried to fight the burning sensation in her chest with the fragrant flowered bubbles.

She ran the cotton over her arms and her neck, taking her time as she reached around her torso for her back. Then the flannel travelled down her breasts and stomach, leaving a trail of lather behind as she propped a leg up on the edge of the bathtub, one at a time soaping them up and washing them down.

Mal remained in the empty tub, sat on the small ledge until every last drop of water had gone, taking her troubles down the plughole with the bubbles. Once she began to shiver, Mal climbed out of the bath, wrapping herself in the towel and her dressing gown, her teeth chattering as the water evaporated off her skin.

She felt refreshed and renewed, powerful and herself as she made her way back through the bathrooms to her dorm room, calm enough to sit down and talk through her feelings with Evie.

It made Mal smile, just the knowledge that unlike the villains on the Isle, she could waste an afternoon in a warm bathtub and return to her room, safe and secure. This was where she belonged. Where she deserved to be and Harry Hook was not going to ruin her schooling experience she decided once and for all, and neither was Ben.

The smile on her face made some of the younger students hanging around the corridor shake with fear, running and hiding in their rooms when she neared them but it didn't bother her, as nothing seemed to bring her down at that moment, especially not stuck up snobs and princesses.

17:59 pm - Mal and Evie's room

Evie had been brushing her hair out, taking care with the ivory comb as she untangled her blue plaits, pulling them free of their grips, when Mal had entered their room, grinning.

"What's got you so happy?" Evie pressed, watching Mal through her reflection in the mirror on her desk. "A certain pirate perhaps?"

"I don't want to talk about Harry Hook because there is nothing to say. That chapter of my life was closed a long time ago," Mal replied simply, walking into her closet to pick out some fresh clothes

"If you say so," Evie whistled, turning her attention back to her hair.

Mal's head popped out from around the corner of her closet, an eyebrow raised and the corners of her lips tugged down. "What do you mean? Why did you say it in that way?"

"What way?" Evie feigned innocence, keeping her face poker straight as Mal emerged half dressed with her hands on her hips.

"Like you knew something I didn't, that kind of way," Mal clarified.  
p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"Evie's eyebrows rose ever so slightly as her friend's response. "Maybe because I can see something you can't."

"Like what?" Mal demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest but the intimidating effect was lost since she had only managed to put on a skirt and a satin bra.

"Just that you've been more yourself today. Happier even," Evie replied, setting her comb down gently. She twisted in her seat to look at her roommate. "You can't deny you are happy in his presence." She didn't even have to clarify before a pillow came sailing from Mal's bed and into her face.

"I'm not talking to you about this," was all Mal said, bending down to pick up the pillow she had sent flying with some silent magic. "It's ridiculous. Harry and I are bad for each other, were bad for each other, that's why we were never together. Anyway, I hate him."

Evie laughed. "Alright, you keep telling yourself that. Mal... can I ask you something," Evie's tone changed from playful to serious as she got up from her desk to sit on her bed opposite Mal.

The purple haired girl nodded and copied Evie's movements, sitting cross-legged on top of her covers.

"How did you know you wanted to be with Harry?"

Mal rolled her eyes and went to stand up. "Gods above, stop trying to play matchmaker Evie, he hates me."

Evie shook her head quickly, her blue hair flying around. "No, no, I mean-" she hesitated, trying to find the right words. "I mean how did you decide that you wanted to sleep with Harry?"

Mal felt her eyebrows furrow and she sat down again. "How did you know Harry and I have slept together?"

"Rumours that went flying around but I just guessed really, there's a connection between you two that even you cannot deny," Evie explained, a blush rising up her cheeks.

"Um, well, I guess it just felt right. Like the natural next step from fooling around, why?" Mal answered slowly, watching the minuscule reactions on her best friend's face. "Is this about you and Doug?"

"He knows I haven't waited until marriage," Evie began before Mal cut her off with a hand held up.

"It just sex Evie, you can call it that without being sent back to the Isle."

Evie breathed deeply. "Fine, Doug knows I've had sex before and he told me earlier whilst we were looking for you and Harry that it really didn't change his feelings for me. He said he just was jealous that someone else had been with me before, you know." Mal nodded despite not knowing. "And I think I do truly love him and I... I want to."

Mal's eyes widened. "Oh, uh, okay then. You should, I mean, if you both want to. Don't they all wait until marriage here? Ben never seemed to be concerned about anything like that."

Evie nodded slowly. "That's the problem, I want to be with Doug but I don't want to have to wait until there's a ring on my finger."

"A few rapt knocks made the pair jump and then giggle, calling whoever it was to come in. On the other side of the door stood Dizzy and her dorm mate Annabel, the daughter of a local baker. The two girls were hovering hesitantly in the doorway at the sight of the two older VKs on their beds, obviously realising they had disrupted something. The fact Mal had yet to push on a shirt made them realise its importance.

"Sorry," Dizzy squeaked, leaning forward to close the door again but Evie stopped her.

"Are you alright?" Evie asked, going over to the two girls as Mal went back to her closet to finish changing.

"We, well I," Dizzy clarified after Annabel squeaked. "Was wondering if you could take me, I mean us, to dinner. This is Annabel's first year too so we don't know where to go."

Evie clapped her hands and nodded. "Of course we will. Mal?" she called for her roommate and the four girls made their way across the main building to the dining hall, chatting about mindless things happily.

 

18:15 pm - Dining Hall

Mal and Evie had chatted with the two girls until they reached the Dining Hall. The older girls pointed out which tables were already unofficially taken and what to avoid on the menu as they ordered.

"That's a free table over there," Evie pointed to a circular table tucked into one of the corners of the large hall. "Why don't you two sit there and the rest of your year group will know where is safe," she suggested, discreetly pointing to three younger students hovering on the fringe of the room, clutching their trays with white knuckles.

"Thanks, Evie," Dizzy grinned, grabbing Annabelle's hand, balancing her own full tray, and she pulled her through the crowd.

"Daughter of the Evil Queen, yeah right," Mal scoffed, teasing the kind-hearted girl who simply shrugged her shoulders with a smile.

"My mother would probably pass out if she knew what I was like now," Evie sassed back as the two made their way with their trays to their usual table.

Evie slotted in beside Jane and Mal took the space on the bench next to her, apologising to Gil across from her when she roughly set her tray down, shoving it accidentally into his own. He simply smiled around a large mouthful of fries, assuring her it was alright and the three settled into a conversation.

At the opposite end of the long, rectangular table, Jay was unfortunately sandwiched between Lonnie and Audrey, an unusual sight at the VKs table. He was looking straight ahead, a deadpan expression on his face as he chewed his food. Audrey was complaining about something irrelevant, using her hands to make large gestures which Jay ignored. Lonnie had tried to look interested but had followed Jay's route and was ignoring the princess, nodding or making a sound when Audrey demanded one.

"And then my mother simply says that I can't be there!" Her voice had taken a scratchy tone. "I mean, if Ben is staying in my castle then I should be able to help play host!"

"Your mother's castle," Lonnie whispered under her breath and Jay cracked a smile which Audrey saw.

She twisted in her seat, poking Jay's upper arm. "Do you think this is funny?" She questioned loudly, the demand carrying down the table and catching the rest of the VKs attention. Jay shook his head, unwilling to start an argument.

"I mean, it's not as if his girlfriend even cares he's gone. He must be starving for any scrap of attention he can get so it's really no wonder that he left for a home visit instead of having my parents come to the school," Audrey snapped, glaring at Mal from her seat.

What Audrey couldn't see was Mal and Evie rolling their eyes together, causing each other to nearly laugh. Nobody but Evie and Fairy Godmother knew about the breakdown in the King's relationship.

Jay's eyes slowly slid to Audrey's and he was about to say something when Harry dropped his tray down opposite him, making a loud commotion and causing Audrey to jump.

"What on earth do you think you-" Audrey's shriek was cut off when she saw Harry. He set his hook down with such force that it pierced the table top and the Dining Hall went silent. "I don't think we've been introduced yet," Audrey's sickly sweet voice made Harry glare and he picked up his cutlery, cutting his meat up silently.

"He doesn't care, Audrey, leave him alone," Lonnie sighed, returning to her food as the rest of the Hall watched in anticipation.

Audrey's hand shot out, practically underneath the pirate's nose. "I'm Audrey, the daughter of Aurora, or you may know her as-"

"She was right lass, I don't give a shit so get ya hand out of me face," Harry's voice was low and threatening and he was glaring up through his lashes. From further down the table, Mal and Evie could read Harry's tight and defensive body language, the way he was almost curled around his hook.

"Oh no," Gil and Jane said simultaneously but for different reasons. Audrey was spluttering, her face contorting and turning a pale shade of red as Fairy Godmother began to stride determinedly towards the table from where she was sat with the rest of the faculty.

"Excuse me, what did you just say to me? I am a princess I'll have you know," Audrey sniffed, rising from the bench.

"And I don't give a shit ya snobby little bi- priss," he bit back, faltering as he censored himself.

Fairy Godmother was now rushing, scooting around table legs and chairs to reach the scene quicker.

"Look, I am just trying to be nice. I am a good friend to have," Audrey's tone was sultry now and she was leaning closer to the pirate.

"Audrey," Lonnie's voice carried a warning that the princess ignored.

"Just think about it," she purred, reaching out to run a hand down the pirate's cheek but he was suddenly stood up, towering over her shorter frame with the point of his hook millimetres from her right eye.

"HARRY HOOK!" roared Fairy Godmother the same time that Mal did. Both were now stood behind Harry, Mal's small arms going around his torso to tug him away.

"I said I ain't interested in a bitch like you," Harry's accent was thicker and rougher, but the threat was quiet so that only those on the table could hear once Audrey had stopped shrieking. Mal had finally pulled Harry away as another princess rushed over to Audrey's side, simpering over her.

Audrey held out a shaking finger, "you are evil," she spat. "Who thought that the children of villains would be any different! She wasn't and you certainly aren't!" Her hysterical tone caused Fairy Godmother to go to her side, settling a steady hand on the princess' shoulder. Mal stiffened being called evil but quickly continued to try and pry Harry away.

"Come on," Mal urged, standing on her tip-toes to whisper in his ear. Evie, Gil, Carlos and Jay joined her side, Jay gripping the silver hook, silently willing the pirate to move.

"Go to your rooms and I will deal with this tomorrow," Fairy Godmother told the group, dismissing them in favour of calming Audrey who was still talking about the evilness in the VKs bloodlines. "Go on," she said firmly and it was then that Harry finally stood down, pushing Mal off of him and storming out of the Dining Hall, his exit watched by every single person.

8:50 pm - Carlos and Jay's room

The VKs had followed Harry out, Gil running ahead to stop the pirate sinking his hook into the walls and framed photographs as they walked back to the boy's dormitory wing.

"To the left," Jay called out and Harry mindlessly followed it, kicking open the door directly to his left. The door crashed loudly and the boys both winced.

"Thanks, Jay, we've gotta replace that door now," Carlos said sarcastically.

"Don't push him," Evie warned and Carlos turned to look at her?

"Who? Jay or the pirate. A guy you don't really know can I just remind you," he replied, his hands out in front of him and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Watch it, they've been friends for years, Carlos," Mal said in her best friend's defence and Carlos stuck out his tongue childishly, an act that was mimicked by Mal.

"I just think we shouldn't be badgering him about Audrey," Evie murmured, watching Carlos join Jay and Gil as they entered the dorm room.

Mal cocked her head, watching the emotions play across her roommate's face. Evie had always been easy to read and in that moment, Mal watched her friend think hard about something that was upsetting her.

"E?" Mal laid a hand on her friend's forearm, snapping the blue-haired girl back into reality. "You okay?"

Evie smiled brightly. "I am perfect. Come on, let's make sure they've not killed each other."

"Inside the boys' room, Harry was pacing, Gil and Carlos were on one of the beds and Jay was sat at his desk, watching the pirate intently.

"Harry," Evie felt she was the calmest and most neutral person in the room so she gently approached the agitated man.

The pirate swung around and Evie reached out, her reflexes quick and sharp. She had stopped the arc of his arm with her hand, glaring at the pirate.

"Talk."

The pirate stared at her and then rolled his ice blue eyes, a grin breaking out. "I ain't spillin' me guts in this room princess," he joked, the words slow and teasing on his tongue. "Ya gonna have to get me alone and drunk for that."

Evie crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "Fine." She was never one to back down from a challenge.

Jay's head dropped back and Mal swore as Harry looked shocked. Evie's confidence stance didn't alter.

"Mal, you're going to have to bunk somewhere tonight. Maybe Gil will lend you the spare bed in his dorm. Harry and I are having a sleepover," Evie and Harry squared off.

"Fine," Harry said tersely and gripped Evie's arm, dragging her back out of the room with a growl and Mal and Jay's protests were ignored as Evie bid them goodnight.

"Classes haven't even started and already I am stressed," Carlos sighed, collapsing on his bed as Gil proposed a game of cards, ignoring the tension that had settled over the room.

"He won't mess her around. Relax," Gil's easy manner made Mal shake her head with a fond smile and she agreed, still anxious about her friend but the warning look Evie had sent her before she had left made her stay put.

19:17 pm - Evie and Mal's room

Doug whistled as he walked down the girl's corridor, a single rose in his hand. He had waited all afternoon to give it to Evie and it had been sitting on his bedside table since the previous afternoon.

He knocked on the door gently and it unlocked after a few moments. Evie welcomed him in, making sure he wasn't seen as she pulled him inside.

"Stand on the plinth next to Harry and hold your hands out in front of you," she demanded, miming what a stereotypical zombie's stance would be.

Doug nodded, giving her the flower and she squealed with glee, kissing his lips soundly making the half-dwarf blush.

"Wait," Doug comprehended what his girlfriend had said and looked at the pirate stood on the plinth Evie used for those who she made clothes for. He had silk and cotton draped over him in meters, the fabric piling up and held in place by his chin. Harry looked the man up and down and simply smirked as Doug joined him warily.

"Didn't meet ya properly this mornin'," Harry commented with a lazy smile as Evie busied herself with finding something to put the rose in. "Name's Harry Hook," the pirate introduced himself, the tip of his hook peeking out from under the fabric he was holding.

"Doug looked between Harry's satisfied face and the sharp point. He gingerly wrapped his fingers around the cool metal and shook once.

"I'm Doug," he supplied, watching his girlfriend flit over to the large chest at the foot of her bed. Evie was leaning into the chest at her hips, her entire upper body submerged into the thing.

"Eve, do you need help?" Doug questioned as her objects began flying over her shoulder.

A hand became vertical, holding a massive spool of golden thread. "I've got it," she called, climbing back out of the chest with a satisfied smile. "Hold your hands out."

Doug followed the order as she went to Mal's bedside and opened the drawer and pulling out a stubby pencil.

"Mal entrapped a weaving spell into the pencil for me but I needed two people to help. One to hold the material and the other to wrap the thread around," Evie explained when both boys looked at her as if she had grown another head.

"Mal's still casting illegal spells for you?" Doug asked at the same time Harry swore happily.

"Good to know she hasn't changed that much. Always loved using amulets for entrapments," Harry told them. "Go on then, do it. I dare ya," he taunted and Evie gave him a cold look. She tossed the spool to Doug and then whispered the words Mal had told her, breaking the entrapment and Mal's green magic seeped out of the pencil and into the thread. Doug stuck his fingers in each end of the spool as it unwound itself, the thread being pulled by an invisible force.

Mal's green magic formed itself into a needle and the thread went through the fabric Harry was holding, sewing itself into intricate designs.

"Now Hook, talk," she said, knowing that neither boy could leave until the spell had finished.

"I said I wasn't talkin' unless I was drunk," he reminded her, his cold attitude dropping slowly as Evie simply wore him out.

The blue-haired girl rolled her eyes and dropped to her stomach, inching her way under her roommate's bed and shimmying out with a small bottle of clear liquid. Doug's eyebrows disappeared into his hair but he didn't say anything, too intrigued at the VKs attitudes.

"Now ya talking'" Harry breathed out, slightly impressed that Evie would go to such extremes to find out what was bothering him.

Evie unscrewed the cap and crossed the room to Harry, holding the neck of the bottle up so he could take a deep swig. They didn't break the eye contact until Doug cleared his throat./p

"It wasn't him was it?" He asked, unable to hold his tongue.

"What?" Evie asked, confused.

"He didn't take your virginity did he, cause I don't know how I would feel about that," Doug confessed as Harry coughed and spluttered, nearly spitting the alcohol out.

"Oh, Gods above! No, it wasn't him," Evie coloured, turning away from both eyes. "And do NOT spill anything on that material!"

"Good, just wondering," Doug said, grinning as Harry's cool persona cracked in front of him. "Go on then, I think you were going to spill your guts to the lady," he smirked and Harry laughed loudly back, finally feeling like he was with his crew back on the Grace, an easy friendship and understanding settled on the trio.

"Go on then."


	5. Chapter 5

19:25 pm - Mal and Evie's room

Harry had recognised the alcohol in an instant. When Evie produced the glass bottle, a cork sealed with wax in its long neck, his heart skipped a few beats. It was a strong concoction, usually a hazy mix of several drinks and was a staple in most taverns on the Isle. The drink was simply known as'Cup o' Glory',it made Harry ache for his ship since there were barrels of the stuff below decks.

Harry clucked his tongue as Evie uncorked the bottle and he took a deep swallow, gulping the alcohol down as if it was water from the Fountain of Youth.

Doug watched the pirate drink, his tongue darting out to capture the droplet on his lower lip. Transfixed, he jumped slightly when the bottle was pushed under his nose by his girlfriend, a faux-innocent look on her face.

"Gonna break a few rules?" Evie asked quietly and Doug wrinkled his nose at the acidic smell, his eyes watering. His curiosity overruled his caution. The half-dwarf nodded and Evie tipped the neck of the bottle to his lips, her musical laugh loudly filling the room when Doug coughed and spluttered as soon as he had forced himself to swallow the alcohol.

"Gods above, that burns," Doug's voice was hoarse and Harry sniggered.

"Ya get used to it," he told Doug with a grin. Harry watched the thread embroider the cotton in his arms with interest, Mal's green magic seeping into the fibres.

Evie offered him another sip and this one went down smoother than the last, still burning however as it went down. Doug's face screwed up and he shook his head sharply, trying to dispel the hit of the drink. Evie smiled and downed the rest of the bottle in one long sip and Doug's eyebrows rose.

"How can you drink that like its water or something?" he asked in disbelief, looking at Evie and Harry.

"It's put into the bottle of the babes on the Isle. We have been drinking 'glory' for years," Evie giggled, replacing the bottle under Mal's bed. She ran a hand over the comforter, smoothing it with her back to the boys. "Or so they say anyway."

"Yer miss it?"

Evie turned to look at Harry with scrutiny. "I have never felt more relieved to have left. What about you?"

Harry took a few moments to contemplate and as he did, the alcohol began to take its effect. Glory was a drink that took quick effect and it hit hard for twenty minutes or so and then tapered off into a warm feeling. Harry and Evie, both slightly desensitised were still feeling the effects but it was Doug who was staring at Harry, giggling, staring at Evie and then repeating the motions.

It was the same reaction Gil he'd first tried the drink. It made Harry smile and he relaxed, feeling as though he was among his crew back aboard his ship.

"I miss my ship," he confessed, still watching the enchantment unfold in his arms, unable to meet either of the eyes of the others. "I miss pulling shifts at Ursula's and practising swordplay on the tabletops. I hate the fact that I miss going out on jobs, using the hook as a weapon."

"Harry..." Evie murmured gently but the pirate found he couldn't stop once he had started.

"I have always wanted to get off the Isle, but I wanted to do it on my own ship, not through the orders of the King. I hate seeing you four and the fact that you are settled. You have friends and relationships and know what to fucking do whereas Gil and I are outsiders cause Uma didn't know when to fuckin' stop! I hate seeing her and how she seems so happy with her perfect life!" Harry spat.

"She is miserable!" cried Evie. "Yeah, you and Gil are outsiders but not because of your role a few months ago. All of us from the Isle are outsiders!"

"She's miserable," Harry repeated slowly. "How can she be unhappy, she's a lady of the bloody court and practically engaged to the King!"

"They're not together anymore!"

Everybody's mouths dropped. Harry and Doug stood statuesquely whilst Evie whimpered and slapped a hand over her mouth.

"I didn't say that. You didn't hear that from me," she cried, pointing at the two boys with a worried frown.

"Ben never mentioned any problems," Doug was more confused about the pirate's reaction.

Harry's shocked expression slowly morphed into something else. He closed his mouth and the corners of his lips tugged at the sides, a light shining in his eyes. "So, no longer a princess huh," he was smirking in a wicked way.

"What's with the grin? I thought you two hated each other?"

"Owe her don't I. The 'heartless pirate' weren't a name I could have embodied without her," he replied. "Besides," he drawled, his accent thick around the words. "The threads of those from the Isle are always entangled."

"The comment had been a saying on the Isle of the Lost, uttered by the older generation. It was supposed to imply that everyone was just as responsible for their entrapment and that it takes only one to free the entire population.

Evie shuddered as it didn't bode well when Harry Hook was feeling mischievous.

21:56 pm - Gil and Harry's room

Mal and the boys had played six rounds of cards, Gil wiping the floor with his skills. They had been playing for odds and ends; random scraps of paper, pieces of lint and sweets. Gil had amassed a large collection of junk by the time the four of them had called it quits in favour of getting a good nights sleep for the first day of school.

Carlos had offered Mal his bed but she knew how hard he found it to sleep in an unfamiliar room so she politely declined, assuring both boys that she would be fine in the empty bed in Gil's room. She hadn't been allowed to leave until Jay had pushed some of his pyjamas into her arms since she hadn't been back to her room.

"Thanks," Mal had murmured as he placed a ball of socks in her arms, along with his hairbrush and a sweater.

"Gotta look after my sister," was all he had said.

Gil and Mal had crept across the hallway, on guard in case someone saw them and thought the worst. Inside the boys' room, Gil had unpacked and settled his few personal belongings amongst his side of the room, his textbooks already open and spread around the floor and desk space.

Gil's cheeks darkened when he realised Mal was staring at all of the schoolwork spread about. "Sorry," he apologised shyly, "I'm really nervous. I've never been to school and I don't want to look stupid."

Mal smiled. "I did the exact same thing on my first night whilst Evie was asleep. I can help you if you are stuck with anything," she offered.

Gil's face lit up. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course," she promised.

"Well, I am confused about the chemistry chapters and I'm not sure I understand the math stuff," he told her quietly.

Mal placed a hand on his arm. "I will help you."

"Thanks, Mal," he beamed. "Oh, you can change in here and I will use the closet." He left her to change and told her he would only reappear when she knocked on the closet door so Mal took her time.

Harry's bed was still perfectly made, the sheet crisp and tucked into the mattress. His trunk at the foot of the bed seemed as though it hadn't been touched, only the books on his desk had been disturbed but unlike Gil, it looked as though Harry had flicked through them and then set them aside.  
The only personal item Mal could see was the bottle on his bedside. Mal crouched next to the cabinet, her nose level with the glass so that her breath fogged the surface. She didn't dare touch it, she had a history of accidentally ruining Harry's things so she simply watched.

The Grace bobbed on the blue waves, clouds wrapping around her tallest mast. The ocean lapped at the belly of the ship, retreating to reveal small clusters of shells that took Mal a while to see. It was a beautiful ship in comparison to the ones that used to bob in the docks on the Isle.

She heard Gil crash into something in the closet and so she began to undress, eyes on the ship as she changed. She wanted to ask Harry about it; who had cast the charm? When had he become his own captain? How is it to be released? Why The Grace?

Mal knocked on the closet door and Gil re-entered the room, climbing straight into his bed as Mal hovered near Harry's.

"It's alright you know. He's still Harry," he told her as he turned down the lamp on his bedside with a yawn. The only light that was left in the dorm room was from the full moon, shining brightly through the open windows.

"That's what's so bad," Mal whispered but Gil's still form was breathing deeply and she knew she had only spoken to herself as she climbed into the cold bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

8:43 am - The Dining Hall

Mal had gone to breakfast with Gil, Carlos and Jay after Evie had dropped off some clothes for her to wear on the doorstep of the dorm room.

A simple cotton deep purple skirt and white Oxford shirt with her leather jacket, all on three separate hangers, had been placed on the door handle of Gil's room with a note simply marked with two kisses and an 'E'. Mal had changed, finding a fresh pair of underwear, her cosmetic bag and some thigh high socks with her heeled boots under the clothes.

Gil's stomach had rumbled loudly and Mal had giggled, hooking her arm through his and dragging him to Jay and Carlos' room, taking all three boys to breakfast.

There, the quartet had met Jane and Lonnie, laughing at Gil's starstruck expression when he saw the breakfast buffet.

"I can have as much as I want?" he had gasped and loaded his plate with a stack of waffles and a variety of fruits, walking carefully to their table so that he spilt nothing on the way.

Whilst pulling a bunch of grapes off of the vine, Mal asked Jane when she would be handing out everybody's schedules but the brunette shook her head, swallowing painfully early to answer.

"My mom decided to put the homerooms on the notice boards so we should get to them before everyone else in the school does," Jane told her, pouring herself and Jay a coffee. "We can all head over together when we've finished. Where's Evie, Doug and Hook?"

Jay and Mal glanced at each other and then to Carlos who looked back with wide eyes, realising that they had offloaded the question to him.

"Uh, I think Evie was finishing something for Harry and obviously Doug's with her," the lie was shaky but Jane bought it, nodding at the thought that the pirate needed dressing.

"Its a bit early for Doug isn't it?" Lonnie smirked, knowing all to well how hard it was for the half-dwarf to make it on time to breakfast. She wiggled her finger in front of her face, settling on the open entrance to the dining hall where Evie was stood in the middle, a tired Doug on one side and a stone-faced Harry on the other.

"He looks a little ill," Jane commented as the trio made they way to the table. Doug was stifling a yawn but his skin looked grey as he sat down, taking Jay's coffee cup and gulping it down.

"Hey," Jay complained half-heartedly, struggling to suppress his smirk at the obvious hangover Doug had. "How was last night?"

"Everything was sorted," Evie said. "Harry has a few new outfits and Doug learnt a few more things about the Isle," she told them and they all began to eat, Harry playing with his food and staring at Mal instead, grinning as she fidgeted under his gaze.

After twenty or so minutes, the group had all finished and left the Dining Hall to go and check their homerooms for the year. As they walked, Jane explained the concept of a homeroom to Gil and she told him the ins and outs of all of the teachers at Auradon Prep.

"Mrs Mills is horrible but if you get her, you're automatically given lockers in the main corridor so that's a bonus. Oh, and Miss Swan is great, so lovely, but her lockers are on the third floor," Jane rambled as they rounded the corner and saw a group of students gathered around a notice board.

"Lonnie pushed her way through, the rest of the group following until they could all see the board. Lonnie and Jay high-fived as they were in the same homeroom, along with Gil who grinned, still unsure of the significance. Carlos, Jane, Doug and Audrey were all in the same homeroom on the second floor with Mr Sebastian, but thankfully, Mal, Evie and Harry were only across the hallway with Mr Smee.

"You're fuckin' around with me now," was all Harry said when he saw the teacher's name. "Smee?"

"He teaches geography," Lonnie was confused as they all made their way to the staircase as no-one had homeroom on the ground floor. "He's really nice."

"He's a bloody traitor," Harry nearly spat. "He was a pirate until a week before the barrier came down on the Isle and he escaped to Auradon with half of my father's crews fortune."

Doug was unsure at the news. "Really? Mr Smee seems nice," he argued in the teacher's defence.

"You know what, I never made that connection," Mal confessed. "Everyone on the Isle was told about the deserters in those last few weeks, Smee was the most prolific," she told the rest of the group.

"Oh, what a big word," Evie teased. "But he did steal his crew-mates treasures and fortunes, that part was true," she told the group.

They had arrived outside Smee's classroom and across the hallway was Sebastian's so the group slowed to a stop. Jay and Lonnie heard the first of the warning bells and quickly said goodbye to everyone as Gil said something in Harry's ear before they joined the flow of students in the busy corridor.

"Just promise me that you won't make a scene," Doug asked, tired at even the thought of the pirate getting into trouble on the first day. Jane had an eyebrow raised at Doug's request, out of the loop at the friendship that seemed to have blossomed overnight.

"Can't promise ya that pipsqueak," Harry laughed. "Gotta keep the hook clean though ain't I." The silver of the hook glinted under the hallway lights and Evie took that as a cue to get to homeroom.

"See you at lunch," she called to the trio still in the corridor as she dragged Mal and Harry into the classroom as another warning bell rung through the school.

8:59 am - Smee's Homeroom class

"Sat at the front of the classroom behind a large but untidy desk, was a short man with a large belly and a greying beard. The facial hair was groomed and seemed as though it had been freshly trimmed. Unlike the older pirates of his father's original crew, Harry was having trouble picturing the teacher on the deck of a ship, let alone his father's right-hand man. The only indication of a sailor was the sun-kissed leathery skin on his face and hands and the fact that the scent of salt seemed to cling to the teacher.

"Mal, Harry and Evie took a seat at one of the long tables in the farthest corner of the room, Evie slotting herself in first so that Mal and Harry were forced to sit side by side in close proximity due to the small bench.

The final warning bell rang and then the man at the front stood up from his desk, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Good morning, and welcome to another year at Auradon Prep."

"A smattering of applause went around but for the most part, everyone was sat still, bored or waiting.

Smee cleared his throat. "I am Mr Smee, but you can simply call me Smee, everyone does," he chuckled, writing his name on the blackboard behind him and turning with a smile, scanning the students on the first two rows only. "I'd like to welcome those who are new to this homeroom..." Smee trailed off looking for a sheet of paper on his cluttered desk. "Here it is, welcome Evie, Mal and..."

Harry was grinning wolfishly as Smee paled and looked towards the back of the room. The rest of the class turned in their seats to watch Harry settle his hook down with care on the table top.

"Harry Hook," the pirate introduced himself. "But ya already knew that," he smirked and Evie rolled her eyes beside him. Mal on the other hand was intently watching the teacher's face flicker with numerous emotions until it finally settled on a tight one, his lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed with a purple sheen.

"Five coins says he's gonna faint," she whispered into Harry's ear and he stiffened at the feeling of her warm breath ghosting across his ear but he nodded all the same.

Sure enough, Smee's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish before he squeaked and dropped to the floor with a thud. Numerous students rushed to his side but the three VKs stayed sat down, Evie in a slight state of shock but Mal was teasing the pirate.

"Always in some sort of debt to me aren't you Harry," she grinned, excited that she had predicted the behaviours of the man right.

Harry looked down at the happy witch next to him, licking his lips subconsciously. "If I remember correctly, you owe me a debt, don't ya," his accent purred over the words and Mal shivered, her mind flashing back to exactly what she had been avoiding thinking about, a silly game with a naughty consequence she had wormed her way out of before she left for Auradon.

"I don't know what you mean," she sniffed, watching a girl hand out everyone's class schedules as four boys had begun to carry the teacher out to the nurse.

Harry took advantage of Mal's close proximity and nuzzled his nose into her hair, running it around the shell of her ear like he had done a thousand times before. "You know exactly what I'm talking about," he whispered before Mal had pushed him away, collecting her schedule and fleeing the classroom.

Evie sighed on his left, thanking the girl before pulling him out of the room. "You shouldn't do that. She isn't as trusting physically as she was back on the Isle, and I think she is still technically with Ben, who may I remind you, is the King." Harry scoffed but allowed Evie to pull him along as she linked their arms. "Let me see your timetable."

He gave her the scroll and watched her scan the paper. "Great, double chemistry right now," to which Harry swore and Evie resumed dragging him through the corridor.

9:15 am - Chemistry Classroom

Mal, Evie, Doug, Harry and Audrey all had a double period of chemistry first thing and the five had ambled into the lab at roughly the same time. Audrey was complaining loudly about being made to take chemistry as Doug buried his head in his arms beside her.

Evie sat next to her boyfriend, discreetly slipping him a small vial that was a homemade hangover cure and had been one hundred percent effective in curing the pounding headaches that came the day after drinking Glory. She rubbed his back as he downed the potion.

Jane was sat on the opposite side of the table, braiding her long hair back as Mal next to her ignored Harry who had taken the last available seat at the table.

A teacher swooped in, clapping her hands for attention. "Good morning class, I will be choosing your lab partners for this year, no complaining, no swapping and no tantrums as you will be working on your first graded experiment this morning," she told the room which was met with groans.

"Audrey looked around the table and then to Harry sat directly opposite her and she grinned, sticking out her foot and running it up the leg across from her with a wink. The pirate stood up quickly in shock, knocking his stool back to the floor with a clatter.

"Yes Mr Hook?" the teacher inquired slowly, annoyed at being interrupted. "Going somewhere?"

"I ain't working with her," he warned, pointing his hook at Audrey who played dumb, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"Firstly, Mr Hook, no weapons in the lab so hand it over and you can collect it at the end of the period," she gestured for the hook which Harry reluctantly placed in her open palm after Evie hissed at him to do so. "Secondly, you won't be with Audrey, but with Mal. Evie with Doug, Jane with Chad and Audrey with Stewart," the teacher ordered, sending Audrey to a table at the other end of the classroom. "This is your first warning Mr Hook."

Mal was glaring at Harry as he picked up his stool and sat back down. "This is a class I am not failing Harry, I am serious," she warned, crossing her arms as the teacher began writing the instructions for the experiment on the board.

"I am not failing any class either so relax," was all he said and they made a silent truce.

As the double period went on, neither spoke to each other as they worked unless it was necessary. Mal was pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable Harry seemed to be on the subject, especially considering that the schools on the Isle never went into great detail in their classes.

By the time the second-period bell hand rang, Mal and Harry were one of only a handful to have completed the experiment and had started the write-up. The teacher swept around the room, ignoring or criticising each pairs efforts. She passed Harry and Mal with only a bright smile and then assigned the homework for the week.

"We should get it out of the way tonight before the other classes start giving out homework," Mal sighed as they packed up to leave.

"Just ask me out Mal, it'll be less painful for you," Harry replied with his signature smirk, shouldering his backpack and going to the teacher's desk for his hook.

Mal rolled her eyes and huffed. She grabbed Harry's arm once he had his hook and quickly asked where his next class was. Staring at her hand curled around his bicep, he told her he had a free period.

"Great, so do Evie, Doug and I so we can start the homework now in the library," was all she said, still pulling him to the library. "We can check out the books before anyone else and get it all done tonight."

"Says who?" Mal glared at Harry as he twisted out of her grip. "I've got things to do."/p  
p style="font-family: -webkit-standard;""Yeah, like this homework," she replied, lunging for him but Harry was quick on his toes and he jumped back, evading her grabby fingers. Mal surged forward again and he laughed, twirling out of the way./p

"You'll never catch me Mal, you couldn't on the Isle so what makes you think you will here?" Harry grinned, still jumping and slipping from her grasp. The pair were causing a scene, blocking the main corridor as they play fought, Harry dropped to a crouch and then reappeared behind Mal as she laughed loudly, absorbed in the old game they used to play.

Neither realised they had attracted a crowd and Harry didn't realise he was heading towards a very large coach with his arms crossed and a frown on his face until he was nearly on his toes. The pirate balanced himself and dodged out of the way, making Mal crash into the coach.

"You," the coach barked, righting Mal and then pointing at Harry. "You always that slippery?"

"Uh, yeah I guess," Harry replied, unsure as to what was going on.

"You ever heard of tourney?"

"No."

"Well, practice starts at five so don't be late," the coach ordered as he stormed off, resuming the flow of the corridor as the students who had stood around watching rushed off to their third-period lesson.

"Did that really just happen?" Evie's laugh broke Harry and Mal out of their stupor. "Only you two could get a sports offer instead of punishment."

Doug was beside her, hiding his giggle in her shoulder. "We should get going before all of the spaces in the library are taken," he said, his voice higher than usual as he fought off the laughter.

10:30 am - The Library

Doug and Evie were sat at a double desk, heads bent low over a textbook but in reality, they were watching Mal and Harry attempt to work on their chemistry assignment.

The pirate was bored and poking Mal every so often to get a rise out of her. Evie was tallying how many times Mal's magic made her eyes flash on a piece of scrap paper.

"We should lock them in a room for a weekend," she proposed.

"Yeah, I'm sure locking them up is really going to get them talking again," Doug shook his head. "What about getting Mal on the cheerleading squad and then she could practise at the same time the tourney team did?"

Evie snorted. "Mal would simply love being bossed around by Jane and Audrey." She snickered at the thought. "What about getting Mal to tutor Gil in their room?"

Doug adjusted his glasses in thought. "Could work. She has already offered to tutor him," he began.

"She has? Well then that's it!" Evie grinned as multiple people shushed her. "What about the sea?"

"Huh? I guess it's cool," Doug replied. "Bit too big for my liking, you know, a bit too unexplored."

"What? No I mean, let's go to the coast tonight or tomorrow before dinner after classes. Mal said that's where she found him the other day. At one of the secluded coves past the forest."

Doug began to drum his pencil, glancing up in time to see Mal swat Harry with her hand as he tugged on her hair. "Tonight. The tourney practice is just a formality, getting uniforms and stuff. We can get everyone and maybe he will loosen up again," Doug proposed and Evie grinned, kissing his cheek solidly.

"Why don't we go a little bit earlier, you, me and those two," she whispered, nodding over to where Mal was now ruthlessly tickling the pirate.

"Sure," Doug's cheeks darkened and Evie smiled but it quickly dropped when the head librarian stormed over to Mal and Harry's desk, ordering them to leave.

"Come on, let's go save them," Evie sighed, packing her books away as Doug simply followed, still blushing furiously.

15:57 pm - Jay and Carlos' room

The rest of the day had been uneventful. Everyone had been swamped with homework or had been bored sitting through welcome back lessons. Everyone had been eager for the chance to go to the beach and had agreed to meet at the boys' room and head off together meaning that no-one could sneak off earlier.

Evie had produced numerous bikinis and one pieces for the girls from her trunk and they had all chosen a costume before heading down to the boys' dorms. Evie's was royal blue with a little skirt around the waist. Lonnie had a simple black one piece with a low back and Jane's was baby blue with white polkadots and a halter neck. Mal had chosen a bikini. Her's was black and a simple triangle shape, the briefs and bra tied sting straps at the sides of her hips and her back.

The girls had packed their towels and a change of underwear into one large beach bag that Lonnie was carrying and they set off. Jane had requested a pass for hiking in the forest from her mother who had granted it easily so that they could enter the forest without suspicion. Lonnie had been the one to talk her down from her guilt at lying about the nature of her request.

"We need this Jane, you're so excited and your mother won't be upset that we're going to the beach. It's the beach for goodness sake," Lonnie had agreed as they entered the boys room. Mal and Evie had been desensitised to Jay and Carlos getting changed and vice versa so they rarely knocked but Lonnie and Jane weren't.

Jay was shirtless and Carlos was wrapped in only a towel, with both boys' chests on display. The two Auradon girls' shrieked, scaring Carlos enough for him to accidentally drop the towel in surprise.

Mal and Evie dissolved into giggles as Carlos panicked and grabbed the closest thing to him, a biology textbook, and using that to cover himself as he shouted like the girls.

Jane had her eyes tightly closed and her hands over them but Lonnie was peeking through her fingers, only half-heartedly protesting. The noise was enough to attract Gil and Harry over and they strolled in, both laughing loudly at the scene.

"Didn't realise hands-on tutoring was your forte," Harry commented, pointing from the anatomy textbook to the naked Carlos. Mal and Evie burst into laughter again as Carlos scrambled from his towel and rushing to the closet.

"Shut up Hook!"

"Let's go before anything else happens," Jay grinned, ushering everyone out the room and on the way to the beach with Harry leading the way.

16:28 pm - The Secret Beach Front

Harry had led them through the forest, sniffing the air like a bloodhound. Evie and Mal were trailing behind him, gossiping and joking quietly.

"I don't think this is the way we came last time," Mal commented as the cry of the seabirds became louder and louder with each step.

"What did happen last time?" Evie asked her gently.

Mal sighed. "I touched his hook and he nearly strangled me."

"Well, you've always known how protective he is over it, he'd gut anyone on the Isle if they touched it," Evie told her.

"But he never used to snap when I did," Mal replied with a pout.

Evie laughed and wrapped an arm around Mal's shoulders, bobbing a little as they walked. "You broke his heart M, of course he's wary again."

"Still..." Mal said lamely.

Thankfully, they had emerged on the fringe of a sandy beach, with the waves crashing onto the shore and along a natural jetty of rock sticking far out into the water. Mal could see rock pools on the stone and she grinned. By the time the rest of the group had caught up and emerged from the forest, Harry was in the water and Evie was sunbathing. Mal had set off for the rock pools on the jetty eagerly.

"Wow," breathed Lonnie as she set the girls' bag down. "I've never been to a beach like this, it's beautiful."

Jay and Carlos were stripping off their t-shirts and diving right into the water, having foregone normal shorts in favour of swimming trunks. Doug went over to Evie, holding out his hand and leading her to the waves, leaving Lonnie and Jane to disrobe with Gil.

"Ever been shell collecting?" Gil asked, shimmying out of his shirt and shoes simultaneously.

Both girls shook their heads, nervously peeling back layers to exposed their costumes. Gil could feel their nerves and tense energy.

"Well, it's easy. Find one shell of every colour of the rainbow. Quickest to do all of 'em wins," he told them. "Ready?"

Both nodded as they put their clothes back in the bag and Lonnie hooked the bag on a branch.

"Okay, GO!" Gil shouted, running straight into the water, whooping and hollering.

After twenty or so minutes, the trio had found all of the colours of the rainbow and the girls were more comfortable. Gil stayed floating in the shallow part of the waves as the girls sunbathed on the sand with Jay and Carlos throwing a ball further up the short beach behind them. Evie had her arms wrapped around Doug's neck, the waves lapping around their upper chests as they talked to each other. Further out, Harry was lying on his back, floating on the waves without a care.

Gil looked around frantically for Mal, relaxing when he saw her on the very tip of the rock jetty that protruded out into the sea. She was nearly level with Harry out in the sea, but she was simply walking around the rock pools on the stones and Gil decided he needed to find some goggles so he could snorkel around the rock, knowing there would be a thriving ecosystem under the waves around the rocks.

Just as he finished reminding himself, a squeak of a dolphin made him jump. There was a pod still out in the open water but it seemed to be drifting closer to Harry and the beach itself. Gil looked at Mal just in time to see her stumble.

She had whipped her head up when the dolphin had called and lost her footing, falling down the side of the rock and into the deep water. Gil cried out as her body hit the water after she tumbled down, making a large splash.

"MAL!" he cried and it alerted Evie and the boys to the purple headed girl who was now under the waves that crashed violently around the rocks as they were far out to sea.

"She can't swim!" Evie and Jay called at the same time, but neither were strong swimmers and both began shouting for Harry's attention.

"HARRY!"

"HOOK!"

"PLEASE HARRY!"

The pirate righted himself and trod water, realising he had completely left the safety of the beach and was now in the open water. He thought they were calling for him until Evie's distressed cries began to turn to sobs. Jay had run to the rocks and was looking over into the white swell as more waves crashed against the sides.

"HARRY PLEASE, MAL FELL IN!" Doug shouted loudly, half pulling, half swimming Evie back to the shore. He pointed in the direction of the final few rocks, a few meters from where Jay was looking over.

Harry quickly dove under the waves, kicking hard and opening his eyes as he swam against the current towards the rocks. The waves were strong and harsh around the rocks as they were quite far out. He ducked his head above the surface again, taking a large breath and making sure he was swimming in the right direction when he dove once more, going deeper than before.

The water was clear, the sunlight filtering through the water easily. He could see the coral-bed the rocks emerged from and the fish swimming around the reef. Laying across a large coral, Mal had her eyes closed and her hair fanning out around her. Harry kicked harder than before, his muscles beginning to ache as he descended further to grab her.

He wrapped his fingers around one of her arms, floating eerily still at her side. He tugged her unresponsive body towards him and cradled her, kicking off the coral to resurface.

"Harry took another breath, realising he was still too close to the rocks as the waves were overpowering. He blinked the salt water out of his eyes, kicking hard to stay afloat as the current threatened to slam him and Mal into the rock face. He gulped in another breath and dove again, cuddling Mal and using his legs to swim the closer to the shore.

"Eventually, his toes scrapped the seabed and he felt another hand on him, looking to the side through his splayed hair to see Gil reaching for him. He took his best friend's hand and was tugged further up the beach, finally shallow enough to walk with his head above the waves. He rested Mal's head on his shoulder, readjusting her weightless body in the water before he ran to the beach and set her down gently on Jane's towel.

Evie was crying hysterically as Mal's chest was still and her eyes remained closed.

"Do something, please," she sobbed and tried to reach for Mal but Doug held her back, giving Harry room and Mal space.

"The pirate looked at Gil who was holding Mal's head still. Gil nodded grimly and Harry slotted his hands together, pushing down on Mal's chest. Even though the situation was dire, Harry couldn't help but appreciate the swell of Mal's breasts under his palms and he pushed down on her chest. The bikini was still wet but a slight wind had picked up, making Mal's nipples harden under the damp material. He grimaced, unsure whether that was a subconscious or natural biological reaction.

He pinched her nose and pressed his lips to hers, puffing once and tilting her head to the side when she coughed and spluttered up sea water. Harry slumped forward, leaning on her left side and setting his wet head on her chest, thankful as it rose and fell under his cheek.

Evie dropped to her knees in the sand beside her friend, gripping her hand tightly. Mal returned the pressure to her hand and to Harry's fingers which were threaded through her left hand.

"Thank you," she wheezed into Harry's wet hair as Evie sniffled and Jay stroked her wet hair out of her eyes.

"Oh, Mal, you're bleeding," Jane gasped, looking at the long scrape on Mal's legs from when she slid down the side of the rock.

"We'll bandage that and then head back," Lonnie told everyone, ordering Doug to get her bag and the fresh towels and clean clothes.

"Thank you," Evie cried, kissing all over Harry and Mal's faces, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Harry and Mal closed their eyes, huffing for breath and fighting through the pain. Mal winced when Lonnie poured a bottle of seawater over her legs, and Harry cringed when he tried to sit up for he was exhausted.

"Come on, I'll carry Mal and you use Jay as a crutch," Gil told his best friend, patting his shoulder once Lonnie had finished.

The pirate nodded and Gil scooped Mal up easily, pausing to allow Jane to wrap the girl in a towel in his arms. Jay and Carlos each held out a hand for Harry and they pulled him up, draping his arms around their necks so they could support his weight on the trek back.

Lonnie followed behind then and Doug wrapped Evie up in a towel and his embrace, bringing up the rear of the group as they made their way through the forest at a slow pace.

By the time they made it back to the school, Mal was asleep, Harry was practically unconscious and Evie was mute. On the walk back to Carlos and Jay's room, Jane and Lonnie acted as lookouts as they were the only ones fully changed.

Evie, Mal and Doug were wrapped in towels, Carlos and Jay were in wet swimming trunks and both Gil and Harry were shirtless in their swimming shorts.

Lonnie looked around the corner and waved the group on, Jane scurrying forwards and opening Carlos' door for Gil to enter first.

Mal and Harry were put into each of the beds, the covered being wrapped tightly around them as Doug and Evie entered. Doug helped Evie climb into the bed Mal was in and rearranged the covers around the two girls, Evie slipping off to sleep easily.

Just before Lonnie could enter, someone called her name in the corridor. Chad Charming came striding down with an easy grin.

"Hey Lonnie, have you seen Mal anywhere?" he asked, trying to peer around her and into Carlos and Jay's room. Lonnie shut the door quickly.

"No, I think she's in her room? Why?"

"Oh, Ben is coming home tomorrow night and he said something about a dinner for her," he said dismissively. "What's going on in there?"

"Nothing, just doing some homework that's all. Well, good night Chad," Lonnie excused herself, slipping into the dorm and locking the door, bolting the second lock Carlos had fitted.

The door handle rattled but then it stopped and Lonnie relaxed, turning to look at her friends.

Jane had a hand to Harry's forehead with a worried frown. "He's shivering, he needs more body heat."

Doug and Jay nodded once. Doug rolled Evie and Mal over so that Evie was the little spoon against the wall as Jay and Carlos pushed Carlos' bed closer to Jay's, allowing them to roll Harry onto the other mattress so he was spooning Mal. They settled the other blanket on top and looked towards Jane expectedly.

"I just meant a hot water bottle but I guess that will work too. Somebody needs to keep an eye on them whilst I go and get some medicine for the shock they're probably in," she ordered and she left quietly.

"We'll all stay, I'll get Lumiere to bring us some food from dinner," Lonnie told them, leaving too. Gil and Carlos shrugged, turning on the TV and sitting on the couch. Jay sat on the empty bed, simply watching the three sleeping VKs with worry.

"Please be alright," he whispered to himself, clasping his hands and closing his eyes


	7. Chapter 7

01:49 am - Jay and Carlos' dorm room

Lonnie had secured the group some dinner and had left shortly after nine to go and complete some last minute homework. Jane had also left with her roommate and bid the boys goodnight, checking on the three sleeping VKs once more.

"Come and get me if anything else happens, but they should all be fine by the morning," she had assured the trio, leaving a bottle of medicine with Jay just in case.

Gil had left for his own bed and Carlos had taken up the offer of Harry's bed so the two boys had left before the lights went out in the wing at eleven. Jay was taking Carlos' bed to keep an eye on the other three as nobody had dared move them. Doug had passed out on the sofa and was dead asleep, and knowing Doug, Jay knew he wouldn't wake up until breakfast the next morning so he had simply played a blanket over him and tugged off his shoes and folding his glasses up on the coffee table.

Jay had fallen asleep around midnight after checking on his friends for a final time, making sure the medicine bottle was within his reach in case he woke up to something going wrong.

In fact, Jay didn't take up at all, the stress of the day and the adrenaline that had been pumping through his veins had gotten the better of him and he slept deeply, meaning he didn't hear Mal wake up.

She was in the middle of Evie and Harry and whilst the four poster beds were larger than an average twin and could easily accommodate two, Mal felt a little squashed and claustrophobic. She had woke up with her nose pressed against Evie's shoulder blade and it had made her jump slightly. She took a second to realise her surroundings. She could feel somebody pressed up against her back and she presumed it was Jay as it looked like his room.

Mal shifted under the heavy covers and turned over a smoothly as she could, attempting to not wake the people either side of her. Unfortunately, when she had fully rolled over, Harry's piercing blue eyes met her's in the low light of the room.

"If ya don't stop fidgeting you're gonna regret it," he breathed quietly.

"What do you mean? Whose bed is this?" Mal whispered back, confused at the threat and his appearance.

"We're in Jay's room," he said in a way of answering. Harry's hand then found hers under the covers and brought it lower, guiding it to his crotch. He smirked as Mal jerked her hand back with a gasp.

"You're disgusting, Evie is asleep right next to me," Mal hissed and Harry's quiet laughter shook the mattress.

"It's a normal human reaction to a half naked woman shimmin' up against ya," Harry replied, reminding Mal that she was still in the bikini as nobody had redressed her.

"It's still gross," she retorted with a pout, feeling herself blush.

"Ya never thought it were gross before," he teased, propping himself up on an elbow so that he could look down into her eyes.

"Well, you seem healed after this afternoon, thanks by the way," Mal changed the topic but she didn't bother to move from underneath Harry, partly because Evie was taking up the majority of the mattress and partly because she had missed this connection.

"Well, gotta blend in an' all, ya know, become a hero and all that," Harry replied, running his nose along Mal's hairline.

Mal placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his cheek, forcing him to look her in the eye. "I mean it Harry, thank you."

Harry gulped at how sincere Mal looked. "Couldn't let you drown could I," he whispered. "What were you doing so close to the edge, ya know you can't swim?" he asked, a finger running along Mal's jaw and tracing the outline of her bottom lip.

"I just wanted to see the reef and the fish I guess," she breathed, the hand on his cheek running up to thread through his hair. "I honestly thankful Harry. I don't know how to truly mean it." Mal knew that there were still some major issues between the two of them but it felt so easy, so natural to revert back to the kind of relationship they had shared not a year before.

Nine months earlier, on the Isle of the Lost

Mal and Harry were notorious. They came as a pair, a solid unit and so if you were being ambushed or scammed by one, then the other was not far behind. Many found out the hard way when they would try and fight, but the other, either Mal with a sword or Harry with his hook, would emerge from the cracks and shadows and see that the other was not harmed.

They had worked the same person over, that was how they had truly met. An old merchant man who had made a deal with both of the villainous kids without the other realising. What the merchant hadn't banked on was that he would lose the deal, and the pair had decided the cash in the payment at the same time.

From then on, a spark had been lit and like a wheel in motion, the two became an inferno. They ruled twice as stronger, with an unquestionable loyalty that was hard to break. They were private but their relationship in all of its forms was never hidden. Mal enjoyed waving their romance around in the faces of the girls who had pinned after the pirate, and Harry used Mal's name to make bigger deals and stakes.

It seemed perfect until the King had requested the four original Villain Kids for schooling at Auradon Prep. Mal had obviously been chosen as she was notorious and possibly the worst, but Harry hadn't. They didn't cry and mope about being separated, they simply locked themselves away for a day at the hideout, with the eyewitness accounts varying in great deals.

Some claimed to have seen Mal shove Harry's own hook through his heart and leave without a backwards glance. Some swore they had made love all night and then simply left, as if cutting ties was that clean. A few would preach that they had married in secret, or cast an ancient and dark spell so that they could never be separate. The claims would all end with the same message. They had died in someway when the King had demanded Mal's presence on the Mainland. The part of each of them, the part that loved each other had shrivelled and died, polluting them to be hollow and black.

For the week between King Ben's announcement and the arrival of the limousine to collect the VKs, Mal and Harry's crimes became dark and cruel, but they never spoke or saw each other in public. Some rejoiced at the fact but most saw it as an ominous sign. A love as strong and turbulent as theirs should not have been separated. Harry's further actions proved that. As Mal became reformed, Harry's morality and sense of compassion disappeared.

"What do you want me to say Mal, that its fine?" Harry hissed. "You could have died!" Evie shifted in her sleep as Harry's voice rose and his temper became wild at the thought of being unable to rescue Mal. Images of her body under the water, so peaceful and weightless as it drifted to the seabed and barely made an impact on the sand made his muscles tense.

Mal could sense this loss of control, recognise this spiralling into something darker and she did the only thing she knew would help. She angled her chin higher and pressed her lips to the pirates, ever so softly kissing him until he kissed her back. The frustration and anger he had converted into passion as he kissed her harder and more urgently.

Mal groaned in the back of her throat, remembering her best friend was asleep besides her. "We can't," she huffed, pulling away and trying to ignore Harry as he kissed his way down the column of her neck, laying fully on top of her so she could feel every inch of her skin.

Harry returned to kissing her full lips, revelling in the way Mal's fingers tightened in his hair and her thighs fell apart so he could settle himself between them. Harry's tongue licked her lower lip and she opened her mouth readily for him, the chemistry rushing back between them.

Jay's snore broke Mal's concentration and she sighed, pulling away again with a huff as he went back to attacking her neck, alternating between sucking and nibbling with a precise skill that made her head cloud over.

"We should talk about this before anything happens and I am not doing this whilst Evie and Jay are asleep in the room," Mal said with finality and Harry finally stopped, using his elbows to balance above Mal.

"I don't wanna talk about anything with you Mal because it always ends with me heart bleeding all over the floor," he said into the crook of her neck before he rolled off of her and got out of the bed, leaving the dorm room with a quiet thud of the door.

Mal shivered and wrapped the blanket more tightly around her. They had so much to talk about. Not only did they need to address what that had talked about before she had left, they needed to clear up the time around Ben's kidnapping and more importantly, Ben himself.

"Shit," Mal swore, falling back against the pillows and trying fitfully to sleep again.

02:07 am - Mal and Evie's dorm room

Harry on the other hand, had walked around the dorm rooms, letting himself into Mal and Evie's room with the spare key he now knew Evie kept on the top of the door frame.

He was pissed and aroused but more importantly, Harry was on the verge of tears. He had hated himself when he saw Mal under the waves. Even more so when the images taunted him despite the fact she was laying practically in his arms.

Harry pressed his fingers into his eyes as he crossed the room to the bed he knew was hers. It smelt like her, an overwhelming scent of jasmine and something earthier, like pine. It filled him and reminded him of the Isle, of his home.

Harry could recall every moment he spent with Mal. Even times when they had simply laid together in a bed, tracing shapes into the others skin to fight off sleep. He had watched her smile and laugh, celebrated a scheme ending successfully and held her as she cried over a dirty crime, a murder or a robbery she had been forced to do for her mother.

There were aspects of Mal that Harry feared, her ruthless ability to shut off her emotions in order to do something, or they was she could so easily manipulate the things around her, be that people or magic. She had a chemistry and magnetism that meant both bent easily to her will.

Harry peeled back the cover and slipped into the bed, pounding his fists on the pillow, imagining her face until he cried in frustration and sunk into the mattress.

Sure, Harry Hook no longer had a heart, but he still felt pain and emotion.

When the letters from King Ben had been delivered, Mal had asked him to go to her loft space, a place they would spend hours locked away in. He knew something had been wrong the moment he saw her. Instead of a kiss and a smile, she had said nothing as she had handed him the letter and crossed the room to the makeshift bed.

Harry could remember scanning the words and dropping it, leaning against the wall with a faux coolness. They had not spoken for a while before Mal had began to cry and Harry's facade cracked a little.

"What are we supposed to do? I don't want to leave you but I can't turn it down and my mother wants the wand," Mal has sobbed and Harry had finally joined her on the bed and wrapped her in his arms.

"I love you." Three simple words whispered into her hair had made Mal stiffen with shock and Harry felt lighter for saying it. He did truly love her and he would do anything for the girl in his arms.

"I... I love you too," Mal had told him after she had recovered from the surprise. Instead of worrying about the future, Harry had kissed her and they had peeled each others clothes off, making use of the bed several times throughout the night until the sun had began to to rise the next morning.

"We can't keep going on like this, or my mother will use you to make sure I get the wand," Mal had said, laying half over him as they watched the dawn break over the sea through the window from their spot on the bed. "I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt."

"We will have to wait it out, but secretly," Harry had told her, running his fingers up her spine. Mal had kissed his chest, her fingers dancing lightly over the chalice tattoo on his right side. Harry's fingers did the same at the identical tattoo on her lower back."We will wait this out until you lift the curse, or you come home or we find a way to get out of here, off this fucking Island."

"Like on a boat?" Mal had wondered.

"I'll get my own boat and I will sail us away from here Mal. We will start a new life where we aren't just the kids of our parents. A place where we aren't villains, I promise you," Harry had told her, kissing her soundly. "One day I will marry you and we will be just Mal and Harry, not the daughter and son of two evil villains."

"I will wait for you. I love you," she had promised him and that was how they had separated. Both hurt and crying and tired but cleanly, with a kiss and the promise. Unsure as to whether they would ever be together again, but for the sake of pretences, and to keep both safe from the others parent, they had been bitter and nasty to each other in public, but it had worked. It had killed them both to hurt the other but it had worked. Maleficent never went near the pirate and Captain Hook didn't try to harm Mal.

Harry could still remember the months he had spent, working and grafting for a ship of his own, and when he had finally succeeded, he would climb to the crows nest and watch the sun set on the Isle and Auradon and hope that Mal had been watching too, but he could still remember the feeling of being told she was engaged to the King. A King had stolen his girl and he couldn't do anything about it.

When Harry had joined Uma's crew, it had been a way for him to keep himself occupied as he worked towards his own ship. The work at Ursula's was less than the dirty work he and Gil did for James Hook, but it meant a lot less blood on their hands and they could mess around and be teens with each other.

When Mal had arrived back on the Island, she had acted as though she barely knew Harry and his anger got the better of him. Deep down, he had never meant to harm the King, nor be involved with his kidnapping but the dark emotions he had been feeling for the numerous months prior had festered and it wad difficult for the young pirate to remember anything but hurting other people. It had become the norm.

When Mal had fought for her boyfriend and ignored Harry, the pirate had seen a red mist descend and hadn't been able to help himself. He had been so angry that the girl he loved had moved in on someone else, and the fact that Ben was not only there on the Isle with him, but the fucking King had been the final straw.

Harry became the man to go to for punishment of an enemy, and he had liked behind known as ruthless and heartless, efficient in delivering pain to another. Everything he did to those people, had had wanted to do to the King. But never her. When the letter for his request at Auradon Prep had arrived, Harry had forgotten he was only seventeen, barely old enough to be called a man, but he had missed so much of his childhood to doing unspeakable things that it was only by Gil's persuasion had he agreed to go and experience a normal childhood.

Now, the pirate was regretting allowing his friend to make him come to Auradon. He was still in love with Mal and seeing her almost die that afternoon had made him realise. She needed to tell him the truth about everything, why she had broken her promise, why she was with Ben and why her magic seemed to all but left her. She would do it tomorrow, tell him everything and depending on her answers, he would either stay or he would release the Sailing Grace and he would leave, make his name somewhere new, where they didn't know of Captain James Hook or Maleficent or of any of the villains or heroes.

Harry fell asleep in her bed, angry tears drying on his cheeks as he slept lightly and roughly. He would not stand by as she lied to him, ignored him and treated him like shit, all for nothing after everything he had done for her. But still Harry couldn't bring himself to hate her, no matter how much he tried, and it was then he began to hate himself, but most of all, the King.


	8. Chapter 8

6:57 am - Jay and Carlos' room

Evie woke up slowly and turned over, looking at Mal's sleeping form. Evie smiled once and then began poking her best friend until Mal groaned and began swatting her away.

"Maaaaal," Evie whispered in a sing-song way as Mal turned over and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "What's up with you?" She asked, noticing the dark circles under her eyes.

"Harry and I kissed last night," Mal confessed without prompt, knowing she could not keep it to herself for much longer. Mal's dreams had been plagued with flashes of blue eyes, silver metal, eager hands and clashing teeth.

Evie's eyebrows rose but she stayed quiet, fighting to keep any trace of emotion on her face. "When?"

"He stayed in the bed last night. Woke up to him around midnight I guess. I can't keep away from him anymore E, I don't want to," Mal whispered so quietly that the other girl almost missed it.

"You daft girl," Evie chuckled and tucked a strand of Mal's hair behind her ear. When she settled back, Mal was fidgeting with the blanket. "Talk to him properly, today. I won't let the pair of you continue like this. Not only is it painful to watch the pair of you flirting around each other but we both know you two are supposed to be in each others lives."

"I know, I know. Anyway, he stormed out last night after I told him we couldn't do anything-"

"I was asleep next to you so I am glad you stopped him," Evie grinned, pushing Mal's shoulder lightly. "But seriously, go talk to him now," Evie ordered, her pushes turning to shoves as she tried to get Mal out of the bed.

The two girls giggled quietly as they play-fought, with Evie eventually pushing Mal out of the bed completely. The other girl was crouched on the floor with a pout, burying her face in the mattress.

"E," she complained, but the way Mal said it made it seem as though it had serval syllables instead of one.

"Suck it up Mal," Evie said, already half asleep again and Mal sighed, going straight to Jay's closet to retrieve some clothes as she was only in her bikini. She pulled on a vest and his shorts and pulled her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head.

Mal then left the boys room and made her way up the stairs to the girls corridor, thinking she would be able to change her clothes and then go back to Harry and Gil's room to find the pirate.

She used the door frame to steady herself as she balanced on her tiptoes so that she could run her fingers over the top of the frame for the spare key. When she had finished sweeping along the dusty frame and hadn't come into contact with it, Mal frowned and twisted the doorknob gently.

Asleep in her bed, the pirate she had been looking for was wrapped in the quilt with his back to her. Mal's breath caught in her throat as he turned in his sleep, rolling onto his back at the noise of her entrance.

Harry's tanned body and the tattoos she had grown used to made her lick her lips unconsciously. His dark hair was messy as the pillow mused the long strands. Harry's chest had always been defined but over the months of their separation and his captainship of his own boat, his arms had filled out and even in sleep, his biceps were strong and defined.

"For fucks sake," Mal swore, realising that not only was she openly staring at the pirate, but the duvet had slipped lower down as he wriggled and his morning arousal was pain to see through his shorts. Mal debated with herself as to whether she should just leave but her inner devil overtook and she smirked to herself.

Locking the door quietly, Mal crossed the room whilst peeling the borrowed clothes off of her body. This sudden burst of confidence made her shiver in anticipation.

Because she was not welcome back on the Isle, Mal had spent all of the summer living at the school and the pressures of being a newly appointed Lady of the court, along with being under the keen eye of Fairy Godmother, had meant that she had been kept on a tight leash. The closest Mal had gotten to acting out as though she was still on the Isle had been running around the empty school in the summer and sneaking off to the beach.

The reason she was feeling better, more herself recently, had been because of the pirate currently asleep in her bed, another image that made her tingle. Harry had always complimented her, as if they were two halves of the same coin, and his appearance at Auradon had proved that, even though it had been sudden. The change in her behaviour meant that she wasn't trying as hard to repress her wicked side, and she liked it.

Mal was now stood at the foot of the bed in just her bikini, tugging the band from her hair so that it fell back around her shoulders and down her back. The seductive confidence she had bubbling over her made her ignore the consequences of what she was doing at that point in time as she carefully climbed her way up the bed, settling her knees either side of the pirates thighs. Mal's breath washed over Harry's face as she set her palms on either side of the pillow. Mal hesitated, hovering above Harry as she internally battled with the ideas of kissing his lips and

Harry seemed to have sensed the person above him as his eyelashes fluttered and he slowly woke up. Mal tensed, expecting the pirate to react badly, possibly jerking straight up. Instead, Harry's lips split into a lazy grin and Mal felt his hands settle on her hips as he closed his eyes again.

"Harry," Mal whispered, finally allowing her entire body to lay onto of his. "About what I said last night... I don't wanna talk about anything just yet," she purred, running her nose over his jaw and up his chin, murmuring the last few words directly onto his smirking lips.

"I'm still dreamin'," Harry kissed her between every word. "Promise me ya ain't gonna ruin it by yapping'."

Mal simply kissed him deeply, her tongue battling against his as he hummed underneath her, the vibrations making his chest rumble and her stomach twist in anticipation.

The pair fell into a rhythm they were familiar with and it took only a few minutes for Harry to tire of Mal's teasing pace for him to wrap his arms around her and turn them over, with him settling himself into the crook of her thighs with a nip to her neck, making the girl squealed with laughter. The giggle broke into a loud moan as Harry ground himself into her.

"Have lunch with me," Harry breathed into her ear as Mal's fingers trailed down his back and her other hands went to his hair. Harry continued to smirk, sucking and nibbling on Mal's neck until she was mewling at the sensation. Harry suddenly stopped, an eyebrow cockily raised as a green flash lit up Mal's irises.

Her fingers tightened in his hair, tugging on it painfully in protest. "Fine," she huffed, pushing his head down once more so that she could kiss him greedily.

"Fine what?" Harry teased, his lips pulling back far enough that she couldn't stretch up.

"Fine, I will have lunch you with you. Now kiss me!"

"Oh, so demanding," Harry's grin was from ear to ear but he followed through with the request, all softness leaving him as he aggressively kissed her, becoming more lost in her lips until a rapid succession of loud knocks made the pair jump.

"Miss Mal," a deep voice was muffled by the wood of the door, but it was loud enough to ruin the electricity between the couple. "Miss Mal, your presence has been requested by the King, immediately."

"Fucks sake," both Harry and Mal swore as Cogsworth began knocking again, louder and harder as the seconds passed by.

Mal sighed, ruining her hands over her face and groaning at the deflation she suddenly felt. "Harry, get off me," she pushed his chest as well.

"I think ya fucked up the order of that sentence, shouldn't it have been 'Harry, get me off'," Harry rolled off of Mal, putting on a higher voice as he imitated her.

Mal rolled her eyes with a crooked grin as she went to the door to stop Cogsworth knocking his way through the wood. She opened the door a fraction as Harry gazed at her, not bothering to hide as he relaxed on her bed.

"What's wrong Cogsworth?" Mal faked a yawn as the sun was barely up and she knew she had only supposed to have woken up. "And please be quiet or you will wake my roommate."

"Sorry miss, King Ben has requested your presence right now in his office. I can walk you once you have gotten ready," Cogsworth's offer was delivered in a way that left no doubt it was not up for discussion.

Mal nodded with a tight expression and closed the door, turning to Harry who was looking her up and down. "You have to go," Mal began, picking up Jay's forgotten clothes and throwing them at Harry's chest. "We will have lunch but please, go now," she hissed, running into her closet and changing into the first clean outfit she could find; a simple pinafore and shirt combination with her favourite knee high socks and boots.

When she emerged from the walk in closet, Harry had reluctantly dressed in the borrowed clothes and was leaning against the door, waiting for her to emerge so he could pull her into his embrace and kiss her soundly. Mal squeaked in surprise and melted into the kiss, until Cogsworth began knocking ferociously.

"I've got to go," she said against his lips, pushing away to cross to her vanity and put on a quick sweep of makeup. She booted her lipstick and then stared deeply into her reflection before she whipped around in anger.

"Harry Hook, you did not leave love bites on my neck!" Mal hissed, pointing at the blossoming bruise on her pale neck. Harry was snickering but when Mal's green magic began making the outline of her fingers hazy, the mirth left his face and he quickly ran around Evie's bed, unlatching the window in a smooth motion.

"See ya at lunch Mal," he called as he climbed down the draining pipe and onto the courtyard. Mal watched him leave with a wistful smile, forgetting all about the marks as she opened the door to Cogsworth but he was already walking away.

"If you would like to follow me Miss," he said from halfway down the corridor. Mal quickly turned and grabbed a scarf and her jacket, thankful for the early chill that had settled over the campus that morning so her outfit was not commented on. As she followed after the older man, Mal decided that she would skip breakfast and try and use a glamour spell on the lovebirds before anyone saw them and finally before she went to lunch.

7:15 am - King Ben's Private Office

Ben unlocked the door to his quarters, dropping the hand luggage he had refused to let Lumiere carry with a sigh. He hated personal calls, especially to the old royalty as half the time he felt as though his hosts resented him.

Aurora and Phillip had summoned the young king to discuss the border their land shared with a local village. It had taken two days but he had finally brought the two parties to an agreement; Aurora and Phillip had released thirty acres back to the local farmers and they would receive fresh produce in return.

Ben slumped against the wooden door for a moment and then he crossed to his desk, fingers quickly sifting through the letters and scrolls that had piled up during his brief absence.

"For goodness sake," he said to himself, sitting behind his desk and sorting the memos into order of importance, a habit Mal had helped him reform. The thought of the purple haired girl should have made him smile but Ben's eyebrows furrowed and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Cogsworth," Ben called out, knowing the butler would be hovering outside his office waiting for a call. The butler's head appeared from around the door. "Could you summon Mal before breakfast please," he requested, settling back into his chair as the butler nodded and disappeared again.

Ben ran a hand through his hair and then turned to inspect his reflection in the large windows, making sure he still looked presentable. With some sense of reluctance, the King then turned back to the papers on his desk. Some were trivial enough that he could throw them straight into the bin, but others required either a reply or further action, something he hated.

Ben had been reading through a proposition from a neighbouring kingdom when a timid knock broke his concentration. He called out without looking up, still half-heartedly scanning the hard to read scribble on the paper in his hands.

Mal stepped into the office she once would have strolled into. She stood closer to the doorway than the desk and Mal had to clear her throat to prompt Ben to look up at her. He looked at her coat and scarf, realising finally how much time had passed since Cortillian as the autumn was creeping up on them fast. Ben couldn't mourn the loss of the summer freedom as he had spent it with his parents around the mainland. He only wished that he had spent more time with the girl in front of him.

"Mal," he grinned, getting up and hugging her tense frame close, pressing a kiss to her temple. When her stiff body language didn't alter, Ben stepped away and laughed nervously. Mal opened her mouth to say something but Ben held up a hand quickly and ran back around his desk, rooting through the hand luggage at the base of the chair.

"I got you something on the way back," he told her and Mal's hard expression softened. He placed a cloth covered parcel into her palm with a smile. "Its just something small and it reminded me of you," he told her, urging her to unfold the cloth.

"Ben..." Mal hesitated, reluctant to unwrap the gift, knowing she should simply give it back but Ben's fingers wrapped around hers and the fabric fell away to reveal a little green gem carved into a love heart. The trinket made Mal's nose wrinkle in slight disgust. It looked tacky and reminded her too much of the princesses in her classes.

"Uh, wow, thanks," Mal stuttered. "But seriously, Ben, we need to talk about something."

"Yeah, I thought so too so I had one of the chefs make us a picnic for this lunchtime," Ben said, retaking his seat behind his desk.

Mal fought to roll her eyes as she had already been secured for lunch and after classes. "Ben, listen, I am already having lunch with somebody."

His happy expression faltered for a second. "Well we can postpone it till after class. Are you having lunch with Evie again?"

Mal was uncharacteristically nervous and Ben watched her twirl her fingers around in front of her. "Actually, it's with an old friend," she said. "And I have a tutoring session after classes. Look, we can talk about it during one of your free periods today," Mal told him, watching his smile fade.

"Uh, sure, I have a free right after lunch," Ben told her as he consulted the schedule on his desk. "Mal," Ben paused, looking deeply into her eyes. "I'm sorry about how little time we've been spending together," he said softly.

"So am I," was all she said before she slipped out of the room quickly, leaving Ben's stomach twisting into knots as the bell for breakfast rang throughout the school.


	9. Chapter 9

8:38 am - Mal and Evie's room

Mal had slipped out from the King's office and ran back to her dorm, encountering Evie on the way so the purple haired girl had resulted to dragging her friend back through the school.

"Why are you slouching like that?" her roommate observed as they entered their dorm. Mal's eyes quickly scanned the room and breathed a sigh of relief when she realised Harry had truly left after she had gone, then she rearranged her posture so that she was stood tall but her neck was still hidden within the collar of her clothing.

"M?" Evie questioned again, putting her hands on her hips to emphasise her authority. "Whats going on? Did you speak to Harry?"

"You know how I left earlier, well I came back here to get dressed but Harry was bunking. I guess someone is in his bed or something-"

"Yeah, Carlos, now get to the point missy," Evie supplied.

"Well, I kinda jumped him and we were fooling around but before anything could happen, Cogsworth interrupted and I was whisked away to see Ben," Mal told her best friend, tossing her the glass trinket as she went about looking for her journal, throwing mounds of clothes and objects around in search of the small book.

Evie sat on her bed and unwrapped the cloth to reveal the heart. "Oh, its... very Auradon," she hesitated, trying to mask her distaste. "Not really my cup of tea though but its sweet that he got you something," Evie said, watching Mal rip their walk-in closet apart with amusement.

"But its gross," Mal protested. "And he still thinks we're okay," she shouted from the depths of the closet. "Have you seen my diary anywhere?"

Evie got up from her bed and shuffled her hand under Mal's mattress, pulling the slim book from underneath. "Got it. What did he want to talk to you about?"

"You're just gonna let Harry and I go?" Mal wondered, re-entering the room and making grabby hands for the book.

"No, that's more important so we will talk about that last. First, what did the King want?" Evie only let go of the book when Mal nodded in agreement and the two sat on their beds, facing each other.

"He told me we were having lunch together, the audacity," she huffed, "But I had already agreed to meet Harry at lunch to talk some things through," Mal began, rapidly flicking through the pages in search of a particular passage.

"And...? Did he let it go or what?" Evie prompted.

"Wanted to meet after school but I am tutoring Gil, and tomorrow we have a project so can't meet him then either," Mal made a satisfied noise in the back of her throat when she found the right passage.

"Oh, do we now," Evie smirked, knowing that the lie was Mal's way of controlling the situation with Ben. She wanted to deal with it in her own terms and so Mal needed time, which Evie would happily give her.

"To hide this mark in a quick fix, I need to use some clever tricks," Mal chanted, her eyes glowing and her fingers seeping her trademark acidic green magic. Evie watched, transfixed as always, as the magic made its way from Mal's fingers to her neck and chest, ghosting over her skin like smoke over water.

"Were they love bites?" Evie questioned with a half quirked smile and Mal blushed slightly. "I won't let Doug do that anywhere near me."

"How are you and Doug?" Mal asked, waiting for the tingle of the magic to fade.

It was Evie's turn to blush and she hid her smile in her hands. "We are celebrating our anniversary at his family's forest cottage this weekend. It supposedly the one Snow White found when she was on the run from the Hunter but Doug thinks thats just a rumour," Evie told Mal, getting up from her bed to begin her morning routine before classes began.

"Doesn't one of his uncles still live there?" Mal asked, copying Evie's lead and she sat at her vanity, applying a light dusting of makeup over her newly clear neck and décolletage. Through the reflection of the mirror, Mal watched Evie stare into the depths of their overflowing closet, mentally picking an outfit for the day.

Using the large fluffy brush in her fingers as though it were an extension of her hand, Mal used it to point along with her words at the figure in the back of her mirror even though Evie had her back to her.

"What? Oh, no, they all moved into the main town so its deserted. Doug suggested that we all went one time, you know, like a slumber party but off of the grounds," Evie had her head and upper body in between the racks of clothes, reaching for something behind them so the words were slightly muffled but Mal nodded anyway.

"Would Doug let us go alone, I mean without him?" Mal asked.

Evie's head appeared in the closets doorframe, her eyebrows raised in confusion. "Why would we not invite Doug to his own cottage?"

Mal laughed. "No, I mean if I were to go there with, say, Harry or someone, without Doug, would that be alright?"

"I guess, I'll ask him in first period."

The two girls slipped into a comfortable silence as Mal finished her makeup and Evie got changed, the pair finishing their hair and the final touches to their outfits at the same time. Evie's stomach rumbled and the two laughed. Mal glanced at her wrist watch and then smiled at her best friend.

"We've got ten minutes to get some breakfast and then get to homeroom so we better leave," she said, gathering her books and school supplies, missing Evie's deadpan look. Mal turned to look when she received no verbal reply.

"You are telling me everything about Harry as we walk, don't think I will let you weasel your way out of it," Evie told her, linking their arms as they left the dorm.

Mal struggled to not purse her lips and roll her eyes. "How could I think otherwise?"

9:03 am - Mr Thatcher's Homeroom

Evie and Mal had snagged the last of the breakfast bars and some fruit from the Dining Hall and they were forced to take the stairs to their homeroom two at a time.

When they arrived at their homeroom, both girls swore loudly and crudely when they saw the small note taped to the window of the door informing them that their homeroom for the year had been transferred to another teacher on the floor below.

"Fucks sake, now we are well and truly late," Mal sighed, running with Evie back down the stairs and with a fore longing look at the fruit, Mal put the two apples in her hand back in her bag, knowing she wouldn't be able to eat them properly on the short run back down a floor.

"Nice to know Smee is still a coward though isn't it, continuity and all that," Evie joked as the pair whipped around one corner and down another empty corridor, highly aware that they were verging on being marked as absent they were that late.

The two skidded to a stop in front of the room that had been written on the note. It was a classroom neither had been in before so Mal knocked gently, opening the door and pushing Evie in first.

"Ah there you two are, I was about to send a search party out for you," a tall man with unruly curly hair and horn rimmed glasses clapped eagerly from behind a long desk. He looked to be in his early twenties and he smiled at the two shocked girls. "Didn't get the memo?"

"Uh, no, we didn't realise. We went to Smee's room," Evie explained carefully, unsure of the teacher in front of her. He barely looked older than some of the seniors and she mentally wondered why she had never seen him around the campus before.

"Well, take a seat, I think an unofficial table have been saved for the pair of you," the teacher smiled, jerking his head towards Harry who was sat alone at a table at the back, his feet on one chair and his hook on the table top on his other side. To answer him, the pirate flashed a dangerous grin at the girls.

"Right..." Mal drawled the word, staring the teacher hard up and down, her was so hard to read that the man visibly shivered for a moment.

"I'm Mr Thatcher, I teach biology," he told the two, gesturing the way to their table with his arm. "I will introduce myself to all of you in a moment," he told the entire class and it was then that Evie realised most of the students in the room had no clue who the man was. The duo shared a look and then went to their seats either side of Harry.

"Sir," a lower status princess named Annalise had her hand straight up in the air, her fingers waving lazily until he nodded for her to continue. "Biology isn't in the curriculum here."

"It is now, starting this term every single student will be taking two science based classes and the majority of the upperclass men are enrolled in my biology course, does this answer satisfy everyone?" the rhetorical question was met with some nods but most remained sceptical.

"Alright," Thatcher clapped his hands onto his thighs and pushed off from his desk, walking around the table to look at his open notebook. "I have ... several of you in my first period class today, including you Annalise so I hope I will be able to answer more of your answers then."

"Sir-"

"Please call me Thatcher, I feel like my dad when you say 'sir'," Thatcher interrupted with a laugh. "Come on then, out with all of your questions."

"What happened to Smee?"

"Who are your parents?"

"How old are you?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

All of the questions were said simultaneously and a few titters went around when the girl who had asked the final one slapped a hand over her mouth as if she hadn't meant to say it aloud.

Thatcher chuckled. "Smee requested a transfer of homerooms; my parents are humble villagers; I am too old for all of you, and I think I will leave the questions there today as the bell will ring any second now," Thatcher finished his answers and the chime of the bell rung as soon as he had finished, as if ordered by his words.

Mal stood up, gathering her bag when a sharp tug to her elbow brought her crashing back into her seat, her balance leaving her momentarily so she was jerked back into Harry's chest with a squeak.

"We're also lucky enough to have first period biology," he whispered into her ear. "I seemed to have hit the jackpot with biology 'n anatomy this morning. My knowledge is quite vast ya know," he purred into her hair as Evie waved to Carlos and Doug as they entered the classroom and made their way to the back of the room, both ignoring the pirate and Mal who was leaning on him now without resistance.

"Oh really?" Mal played along, running a hand through her hair which exposed the column of her neck.

"Yeah, for instance, I know that when ya suck and bite at a patch a skin, on the neck for example, the capillaries burst and ya left with a mark," Harry's fingertip ghosted over her pale, unblemished skin. "I believe a bit a witchcraft had been goin' on here," he said lowly.

Both Mal and Evie (who couldn't help listening in to the flirtatious banter) sat straighter in their chairs and shushed the pirate, bringing more attention to them than before.

"Don't go mentioning magic just anywhere, Mal's not supposed to be doing any," Evie hissed and Carlos nodded seriously from the next table as he and Doug were leaning in close.

"Especially not when you don't know half the kids in here, they would love to get into Fairy Godmother's good graces by snitching on Mal," Doug said quietly, looking around at the chatting classroom.

"Don't know why ya bothered, makes me wanna mark ya more," Harry nuzzled Mal's neck making her laugh as he nipped playfully at her skin.

Just then, the final bell rung around the room and Evie punched Harry's upper shoulder hard, shaking her hand after as she had thrown her weight behind it.

"Shit!" Harry laughed away the stinging pain, pulling away from Mal as Ben walked into the room.

"Language," Thatcher warned from the front, welcoming the King as he glared at the pirate.

"Thanks," Mal whispered to Evie, avoiding Ben's eye as he made his way to her. Mal was glad that there was no chair next to her but it didn't seem to stop the King. Ben simply dragged a chair from another table so he could sit to her right, oblivious to the hand on her left thigh, partially hidden by both her hands and the hem of her skirt.

"Hey, I didn't realise you were in this class," Ben greeted Mal happily, pressing a kiss to her temple. Harry tightened his grip on Mal's thigh and she shifted as Thatcher began teaching.

"I never realised this was even a class here," Mal replied, the pitch of her voice higher than usual as Ben gripped her right hand and Harry's fingers began to crawl up her leg, his body turned away from hers and his face impassive.

Mal swore in her mind as she realised she had no clue how to stop Ben's advances without upsetting him too much as she didn't feel as though it was the right time. Thatcher was calling upon students to answer a question and he chose Ben who snapped to attention and pulled his fingers from hers.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't hear the question," Ben apologised, his easy charm helping it sound sincere.

"As I was saying, what do you know? It can be anything at all," Thatcher said and when Ben's face remained blank he sighed. "This term's graded topic is 'health and relationships' your highness, so I was asking the class to tell me what they know about intimacy," he prodded and Ben's cheeks darkened at both being called out, referred to formally and the topic.

"Uh- it is something that happens when two people love each other," Ben stuttered and Thatcher nodded until he began to shake his head.

"Correct, sexual intimacy is something that is practised by married couples here on Auradon, but in other cultures, like that on the Isle of the Lost for instance, it is not held in such a high regard," Thatcher turned to the black board, writing the word 'intimacy' in large sloping letters.

"Excuse me but what does that have to do with us? And why are we being taught such a depraved thing?" a girl at the front of the class sneered, looking at the VKs through slanted eyes and Mal struggled to focus on her scathing words as the pads of Harry's fingers were now tracing her upper thigh.

"My parents would be horrified to know I was being taught such filth," another girl spoke up, her tone one of snobbish disgust.

"Actually, everybody's parents were notified in the change to the curriculum during the summer and told to withdraw their children if they felt it was wrong. As you are still here and I am assuming your parents can read, I can only fathom a guess that they are alright with it," Thatcher told the girls with a straight face. "Learning about other cultures, especially one in which you interact with people from that culture, is a vital part. The introduction of this topic is backed by multiple kingdoms so I'm afraid that your prejudices will need to be left at the door from now on," he finished, his expression hard and arms crossed.

"Sir," a boy spoke as the two girls sat dumbstruck. "Does that mean that those on the Isle of the Lost are intimate before marriage?"

At this question, most of the heads in the room, including Ben's, turned to the four VKs sat in a line at the back of the classroom. Mal crossed her legs under the desk, creating a barrier so that Harry's wandering fingers could rise no further for the time being.

"Well, I am not from the Isle, nor have I ever been so I cannot answer that properly Samuel," Thatcher answered slowly, recognising the dangerous territory the class was heading towards.

"Do you?" a curious girl asked and the VKs could feel the class' collectively hold their breath in anticipation for the answer.

"Its alright, you don't have to answer," Thatcher said from the front but Mal could tell her was intrigued despite his best efforts to keep his voice neutral.

"Some wait and some don't." Doug was the one to answer and Samuel, the one who asked it in the first place, whistled through his teeth.

"You don't wait for true love?" The question had already been asked before so Doug regurgitated Jay's answer from a few days previously.

"For homework, everyone is to research, to the best of their abilities, the customs of love and intimacy within another culture, that can the Isle or another kingdom, and write a scroll and a half about what you find," Thatcher ordered and the class briefly intermitted to take note of the work and middle complain.

Ben leaned closer to Mal, still oblivious to both her discomfort at his closeness and Harry's hand. "Can I ask you some questions later, for the essay?"

"It'll have to be tomorrow, or maybe Wednesday, I'm really busy," Mal said, slowly writing the assignment down and not looking at the King's expectant face. "Maybe if you write the questions down I can write the answers and give it to your secretary so you aren't waiting half the week for the-" Mal's voice slipped as she felt Harry's palm cup her through her underwear.

"Mal? Are you okay?" Ben asked quickly, worry evident in his voice. "Sir, I think Mal may need to go to the nurse," he said loudly, placing the back of his hand to her forehead.

Thatcher stopped teaching and made his way to the back of the class. He could see that Mal was gripping the wood of her desk with white knuckles and her face was screwed up tightly. Both Ben and Thatcher missed Evie elbow Harry in the gut and his arm retreating back to his side, eventually both hands coming to rest on the table top when another elbow landed in his stomach, as it happened in a split second.

When Thatcher had finally reached the back of the classroom, Mal's expression relaxed and she had let go of the desk, her hands now swatting Ben's away from her face.

"Mal, do you need to see the nurse?" Thatcher asked slowly, assessing her closely.

"No, I'm fine," she replied, glaring at the groaning, doubled over pirate next to her and then at the King who was still trying to take her temperature. "But could I move seats please," she requested, finally looking up at the teacher with a hard expression.

"But you whined and you do look a bit flushed," Ben protested, a pout naturally forming along with a crease in between his brows. "You definitely sounded in pain Mal."

"I am fine Ben. Sir, please," Mal was stood up now and Thatcher nodded, watching her move to sit next to Carlos at the other end of the table.

Thatcher returned to the blackboard and resumed talking about the pre-wedding rituals in Agrabah.

Evie leant forward in her seat. "Ben still thinks he and Mal are together you idiot," she said to Harry quietly. "Don't do something that'll embarrass her, she is a lady of the court."

Harry nodded minutely and Evie settled back in her seat, knowing that they she would have to keep an eye out at lunch to make sure the two survived their so-called 'date' and didn't end up killing each other, ripping each others clothes off in the Dining Hall or missing afternoon classes.


	10. Chapter 10

12:17 pm - The tourney fields

Mal had been one of the first to leave Thatcher's classroom after the bell had signalled the end of first period. She pretended to not hear Ben calling her name and she blatantly ignored the pirate's gaze as she melted away into the crowd of students surging through the hallway to their next class.

She didn't know why she had snapped but Mal pinned the annoyance down to Ben's oblivious attitude. She was now cursing herself and wishing she hadn't erased the marks Harry had left on her neck that morning. Mal wished she had something concrete that would hurt Ben, almost as much as he had been inadvertently hurting her. At this thought, she couldn't help but feel guilty, and then annoyed at herself for allowing herself to feel guilty about the way she felt because Ben was treating her.

Algebra passed for Mal in an blur, her mind fogged over with plans for lunch and how she could being to approach the subject of her relationship to the King. It was mentally exhausting her as she completed her classwork, participated in polite conversation and mentally organised what she was going to say. By the time she was crossing the school grounds to the tourney fields, Mal's tension was like a tightly spun wire, threatening to snap at any moment.

There was a midday practise for the band underway and Mal waved at Doug as he tuned his trumpet and grinned at her. Mal continued past the noisy warm up of the band and around the bleachers to see Harry leaning against one of the outhouses the gardeners used at the rough edge of the pitch, a couple meters away from the forest.

The sight of him, leaning up against the brickwork with a leg propped up underneath him and his arms crossed, his hook glinting in the afternoon sun, made Mal's stomach flip and tighten. The aura around him, one of suave coolness, had always been easy for the pirate to emulate, even back on the Isle. Harry would lean up against walls and use his tall stature and broad shoulders to intimidate whoever he was talking to.

The closer she got to him, the more her nerves began to increase. He looked up, grinning wolfishly as he heard her approach.

"Thought ya'd backed out on me, gone soft eh," Harry teased, reaching forwards and pulling him to her before she could open her mouth to reply.

The motion of being tugged and then colliding with Harry's strong chest winded Mal and Harry took advantage of that fact. He glanced at the band practise, turning the two of them around and pushing Mal into the brick, shielding her from the musicians with his body as he kissed her soundly.

He pressed his lips to hers, kissing away any attempt at conversation as he knew she wanted to talk to him. Instead, Harry's tongue darted out and he traced Mal's lower lip, testing the limits of what she would allow. To his surprise, Mal opened her mouth, her own tongue massaging his as they fell into a smooth rhythm.

Harry took advantage of his extra height and placed his forearms on either side of her head on the wall, effectively trapping her head as he leant diagonally to pin her down. Mal's hands didn't remain stoic; her right hand snake around Harry's narrow hips and she pulled him forwards, effectively sandwiching their upper bodies together. Her left hand went immediately for his scruffy hair, threading it through her fingers and then gripping it tightly.

Harry winced into her kiss as she bit down on his lip, pulling it back until he growled audibly. Lip biting had always been a favourite of Mal's but it didn't hold a candle to the passion Mal would pour into the action when they had been fooling around back on the Isle.

Harry pulled away, pecking her pouting lips once before he brought a hand to her cheek. "Mal..." Harry whispered her name as he looked into her eyes. They were glassy and bright, tears pooling in her eyelashes. "Come on then, out with it," Harry ordered, stroking her skin with his thumb.

The girl in his arms sniffled for a few seconds, looking up into his blue eyes and that seemed to set her off. She could see all sorts of emotions in the sea glass coloured eyes. Lust, worry, anger and concentration and it made her crack.

"I can't bring myself to talk to Ben, and- and," Mal sniffled a few more times before she began to cry properly.

"About what?"

"Me, us, the fact that I no longer want to be a lady of the court, I'm still practising magic, I don't feel like myself at all," she confessed, wrapping both arms around the pirate with a great big sigh that made her body shake.

Harry stiffened minutely at the unexpected contact before he wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug. It occurred to him that the last person he had hugged had been Mal, months before their lives had changed so dramatically.

"Forget about him for a moment," Harry told her and Mal shook her head.

"That's just it, I can't. Its consuming me!" Mal cried louder and Harry winced as some of the bandkids began to crane their necks to see what was going on.

Harry gripped her wrist and tugged her into the forest, going deeper and further than he knew they were allowed to at a lunchtime. She followed limply, still dabbing at the tears with the back of her hand.

It was cooler under the thick canopy, the noise of the school and the band lessened as Mal and Harry clambered over a fallen tree and up a small grassy knoll. Harry finally let go of Mal's wrist at the flat summit within a copse and Mal sat down, boneless on the barren grass.

"I wanna help you forget Mal," Harry's voice was like silk as he dropped to his knees in front of Mal, reaching out to tip her chin up.

"What? How?" Mal's voice was still watery but she had managed to stop crying, now her eyebrows were knitted together in confusion.

"Trust me?" Harry asked her, looking into her eyes. Mal nodded slowly and Harry grinned. He knelt over her thighs as he tilted her chin, kissing her deeply once again.

Mal whimpered and brought her hands to his ruffled hair, tugging him to her so that his balance faltered and he fell forward, pushing her back to lie on the grass, her hair fanning around her as she kissed him.

The pair were now laying flat, Harry's forearms one again locked either side of her head, taking the brunt of his weight.

Harry's lips began to descend down the column of Mal's extended neck, nipping and licking as he trailed his nose along the same path until Mal was squirming underneath him, trying to dislodge him so that she could roll him over, but the pirate was too determined and gravity seemed to weigh him down, planting him firmly above the smaller girl.

"No ya don't, this is for you," he growled, kneeling up so his hands were free. Harry's hands were at Mal's sides but they began to inch up over her waist and towards the buttons of her blouse. He used the tip of his silver hook to tug the buttons free, a few snapping from their thread and tumbling down into the grass but Mal didn't notice. Her eyes were closed and she shivered in anticipation as the cool metal came into contact with her feverish skin.

Harry's eyes were transfixed on the soft indention the point was making on Mal's exposed skin, a dip in the smooth expanse of her upper chest as he softly dragged the weapon south, hooking it underneath the seams of Mal's simple, unstructured lace bra, capturing it in the centre and tugging on it until Mal groaned.

"Do something Hook," her voice was low and her tone husky, making the pirate above her grin like a wolf. He had yet to touch her properly but when Mal opened her eyes, they were acidic green and Harry watched the molten colour move like smoke through the air, within her eyes as it flashed and morphed as her pupils dilated with desire. Mal was rolling her hips underneath him or at least trying to as he was sat on top of them, pining her to the hillside.

Harry's concentration wavered as she renewed her effort to find some sort of friction so he jerked his hook sharply upwards, severing the lace at the front of Mal's bra, the two delicate cups fell away easily, wilting to settle on her ribcage and Harry smirked as Mal shivered. The cool breeze made Mal's nipples pebble into small peaks and now a ear to ear grin had settled upon Harry's face.

"I haven't even touched ya yet," he whispered, looking into Mal's eyes as he lowered himself slowly, never breaking the eye contact as his lips came into contact with one of her nipples. Mal whined and when she opened her eyes again, she seemed surprised to find her fingers firmly gripping Harry's hair, anchoring him to her flushed chest.

"Please," Mal whispered helplessly as Harry teased one of her breasts with his mouth as he gently ran his hook over the other, circling around her nipple but never touching it. "Harry," Mal jumped when the cold metal brushed against her sensitive peak, and she couldn't help the groan when Harry began chucking around her other nipple, the vibrations going straight through her and igniting the pool of liquid heat that had formed in her lower stomach.

Harry kissed his way across her chest and captured her other nipple, using the hook to ever so carefully scratch at the underside of her breast. Whilst Mal hissed and whined, he used his free hand to stoke his way down his torso, ghosting over her belly button and across the waistband of her skirt. He was almost painfully hard at this point and having to angle himself so that Mal's writhing hips wouldn't collide with his crotch.

"What do ya want Princess?" Harry asked her, removing himself from her chest and she swore, using the grip on his hair to bring his face to hers. Teeth collided with teeth as they clumsily kissed, neither caring about anything else.

For Mal, the entire world had melted away and all that mattered, all that was real, was lying in her arms in the woods. All she could see, smell, hear, feel and taste was Harry Hook and she was simply orbiting around him, as though he was the centre of her universe. She had lost track of time; they could have been kissing for several moments or several hours, or weeks or perhaps years. She didn't care as long as he didn't stop kissing her.

For Harry, his sole purpose in life had become to bring the girl in his arms pleasure. He forgot that they were not on the Isle, forgot that she was a lady of a royal court and they were laying in a forest, forgot that they had classes that afternoon and that if they were caught, he would probably be expelled. All Harry wanted to do was kiss Mal, and love her, like he had done on the Isle of the Lost. He wanted to take her away and they would sail the world aboard the Grace, living as though they were the last two people on earth.

"Please, Harry, more," Mal begged between kisses, her hands tugging his jacket and shirt off eagerly before he could say anything. "Touch me," Mal's breathing was shallow now as Harry obliged her request, allowing his fingers to slip under her skirt.

"Look at me," he commanded and the girl in his arms did as he asked. Mal struggled to keep her eyes open as Harry pressed a finger to the wet lace of her panties. With a grunt of effort, Harry swung his hook into the soil a few inches over Mal's head, piercing the ground and sinking the silver deep into the hillside so that he had two free hands. Mal let out an involuntary squeak as he did. Harry grabbed her hands and brought her arms above her head, wrapping her fingers around the rest of the exposed hook. "Don't let go."

Mal's grip on the weapon made her knuckles turn white as Harry knelt up once more and flipped her skirt up over her hips. Unlike Mal who seemed to have forgotten that she had classes after lunch and had pulled of his shirt, Harry fought his instinct to rip the piece of clothing away.

Mal's long pale legs were parted so that either fell on each side of Harry's knees, exposing her black lace panties to his greedy eyes. Harry couldn't mask the smile on his face as he toyed the the hem of the intricate lace on her hipbones, making Mal whine for more.

"Please," she drew out the syllables and Harry laughed as he watched her internally struggle.

"Do not let go of that hook, ya hear me," he reiterated the order and Mal nearly sobbed as he finally removed her underwear. Harry balled up the lace and stuffed it in his trouser pocket with a wicked smirk. Mal was about to protest but the words died in her throat when his fingers parted her slick folds and found her sensitive nub so quickly her head span.

Her chest was flushed red and her cheeks were pink as Harry's fingers circled Mal's entrance, teasing her but never entering.

"For fucks sake Ha-" Mal's frustration turned into a shout when he sunk his forefinger into her and he leant down to kiss her, effectively shutting her up as he added a second finger and curved the digits.

Harry moved like a man possessed. His fingers were slick with Mal's arousal and as he kissed her breathless, he had to pin down her hips with the forearm of his other hand.

In the pit of Mal's stomach, a knot was begin to coil, a feeling she had not felt in months. The last time she had come undone was at the hands of the pirate who was worshipping her at that moment, but it had been nearly seven months since then.

Harry's lips trailed down her neck and Mal gasped for breath, both from the kiss and the way Harry's skilled fingers worked themselves inside her. Mal felt the blood pounding in her veins and she knew that Harry could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage as he kissed his way down. Mal was panting and a shout escaped her when he bit down on her nipple as he added a third finger into her soaking heat.

Harry skipped over her torso, too impatient to taste the girl. Mal bit her lip to contain the scream as the pirate's lips and tongue found her clit, licking and sucking on the bundle of nerves as Mal arched her back and tilted her chin higher. She was gripping the hook with all of her might, using the cool metal in a failing attempt to stay anchored to the ground.

Harry gave up trying to pin her hips down and instead reached up and toyed with her breasts, laughing around her heat as Mal began to chant his name lowly. The purple haired girl shuddered at the vibrations, her toes curling and her thighs tightening around his head. One of her hands was in his hair again, tugging and pulling on the dark stands as the other gripped at the weapon.

The coil in her stomach was large now, tumbling and expanding with every brush of Harry's fingers to her inner walls and sensitive nerves. He seemed to be everywhere. Kissing and touching all of the right places which helped build Mal up to the edge. She was too far gone to care about anything now, her mind blissfully blank as Harry curled his fingers, hitting the right spot within her and sucking her clit with just the right pressure that made her tense up, a silent scream on her face as she opened her mouth, back arched, breasts high, head back and eyes closed.

The coil snapped and the pleasure lit every nerve ending alight, from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head and every inch of her body between that.

Harry continued to work his fingers in and out of her as her walls contracted and her legs shuddered with the power of her orgasm, drawing it out for her as she shuddered and called his name again, however, the chanting was breathless this time, and sounded as though she was praying.

Harry looked up just in time to see a burst of green light combust around them. He recognised Mal's magic as it dissipated in the air, sparks showering all around them until Mal finally began to calm down, coming down from the high she was feeling.

With her eyes still closed, she began to smile widely, tired and happy. Mal felt drunk as she melted back into the grass, her thighs falling from either side of the pirates head and her finger loosening on his hair and the hook.

Harry sat back on his heels, readjusting himself and hoping that Mal didn't notice the darkened patch of material where he had been leaking. His erection was painfully heavy and he doubted he had ever been this hard before. The slight movement of his boxers and trousers made his internally wince but the moment was about Mal so he pushed his own arousal aside.

"Holy shit," Harry swore when he finally looked away from Mal's glowing face. The flora that surrounded them on hillside seemed to have bloomed all at once. There were now large exotic flowers where once it had simply been grass. Wild flowers had shot up around Mal's head, poking up through her hair and around is hook.

"Thank you," Mal said with a sigh, finally opening her eyes.

"Fuck princess, your eyes," Harry said, astounded.

"What?" Mal said but she was still feeling the happy after effects of the orgasm so her tone was still soft and light.

"You're eyes are green Mal, like when ya do magic green," the pirate whispered, stroking some stray stands of hair back from her face. "You look like some sorta nymph or a magical creature."

Mal hummed in response. "I can smell jasmine," she was smiling ear to ear as Harry slid her underwear back on, his fingers lingering on her hipbones before he settled her skirt back down. Mal was boneless in the grass as Harry picked up the lace cups of her bra and gingerly placed them on her breasts, frowning slightly when he realised there was no way to fix the rip that had severed the garment into two. Harry then tried to refasten her blouse, but the majority of buttons were either broken or laying around them in the freshly bloomed flowers.

"Look at what ya did princess," Harry whispered into her ear once he had abandoned the task of redressing Mal. Instead, he picked up his jacket and lay it on top of her.

"Huh?" Mal turned her head and looked at the life that had sprouted around her. "Did I do that?" she breathed, awestruck at the phenomenon.

To her right she could see a large amount of her favourite flower; the delicate white blooms of wild jasmine were large and bright, the sweet smell of the flower wafting over the couple. There was also a towering sunflower, bushels of cornflowers, roses, sweet peas, foxgloves and forget-me-nots along with what she guessed were wild herbs. Mal could smell mint and basil somewhere around them.

"I did this?" she asked, turning her head to look at Harry with wide eyes.

"Yeah, just as ya came, your magic exploded out of ya and settled around his. When I next looked up we were surrounded by flowers," Harry told her, punctuating the information with a kiss. "Have ya never caused flowers to bloom before?"

"I've never come like that before," Mal replied with pink cheeks. Harry had not been her only sexual partner in the past but he had been the most frequent, the longest and the one she felt safest with. "You've really outdone yourself Hook," she teased, kissing him softly.

"We've gotta get back," Harry mumbled against her lips and he could feel Mal pout against him.

"But what about you?" Mal brushed her hand over Harry's crotch and laughed when he hissed as she stroked over his raging erection.

"This was about you, but I'll cash in the return sometime soon," he promised. "Come on, lets go."

The couple slowly got to their feet and Harry pulled his shirt back on as Mal took hers off completely.

"What do ya think you're doin'?"

"I don't have a spell to repair clothing," Mal replied, taking off her bra and pulling her ripped shirt back on over her naked breasts which made Harry groan as he felt himself twitch uncomfortably against his trousers. Over the top, Mal buttoned up the pirate's infamous red coat, the brass buttons shining in the sunlight.

The pair kissed again, slowly and carefully as Harry wrapped Mal in his arms. In the distance, a faint whistle carried on the wind.

"Come on, band practise has finished," Mal told the pirate, linking their fingers.

Harry nodded and took several deep breaths, thinking about Ursula naked and his father's body to calm himself down. When he had settled down enough, he bent to retrieve his hook. Together, the couple walked down the hill and through the forest. Harry climbed over the fallen tree and helped Mal down, his hands running up her legs to grip her hips and lower her to the forest floor. She returned the action with a kiss.

Finally, the two reemerged onto the tourney field, still hidden behind the groundkeeper's shed.

"I'll see you tonight," Mal said but it was delivered like a question.

Harry bent down and kissed her pink lips for the final time, answering her question and savouring in the way that she leant into his kiss, lauding her body to his and for a brief period of time, Harry thought the world could have slid off of his axis and he would not notice whilst Mal was kissing him.

Too soon, the couple heard the rest of the band begin to pack away their instruments and the pair both knew they had to visit their dorm before afternoon registration. Mal needed a new blouse and Harry needed a cold shower.

Reluctantly, they broke away for the kiss and let go of each others hands. Harry turned to leave first, grinning wolfishly back at Mal as he saluted her and left the tourney field from the side without looking back, slipping through the crowd and disappearing into the main building.

Mal sighed happily and then pushed off of the shed, wrapped in the pirate's jacket that still smelt like him; salt, soap and something that just emulated Harry but she couldn't put a name too.

There was only one person left from the band practise and he was facing the shed, arms crossed as if he was waiting for Mal. She walked over to him and linked their arms with an uncharacteristically shy smile. The two began to walk back to the main building, taking a shortcut to avoid people so that they wouldn't see the jacket and Mal's messy hair that had a flower or two trapped in the waves.

"I can make flowers bloom, even those not native to that area," Mal told him with a grin as they slipped into the dormitory wing.

"How did you find this out then?" Doug's tone was teasing, as if he already knew the answer but to hear the verbal conformation. For good measure, he tugged on the lapel of the jacket.

"In a moment of clarity I guess," she replied with an easy smile.

"Did you know your eyes are green. Like when you do your magic, they're that green," Doug told her as Mal entered her room and found a new shirt and bra. The half-dwarf was too polite to outwardly react to the sight of Mal's ruined blouse once she peeled the jacket off and set it upon her bed.

With her back turned, Mal tugged off her blouse and put on the new bra and crisp white shirt. She left the ruined blouse on Evie's bed along with the bra which made Doug's cheeks darken.

"I'm not sure how I'm going to explain that away in history," Mal answered the question finally as she dragged Doug from the room to leave for afternoon registration.

"Maybe just say they've always been like that," Doug replied, pushing his questions to the side as he could tell Mal didn't want to talk about it.

The two made it to the Great Hall before they were stopped by Fairy Godmother.

"You two, a word in my office please," Godmother told them with a serious tone.

"Your office?" Doug parroted nervously.

"Yes Doug, do you need a map?" Godmother retorted before she turned and began to lead them away from the Great Hall and to her office.

The pair shared a worried look, both thinking they were in trouble for different things.

"Im so fucking screwed," Mal whispered.

"Oh gods she knows," Doug said at the same time as they followed behind the Headmistress.


	11. Chapter 11

13:09 pm - Fairy Godmother's office

The afternoon sun was shining through the large windows that puncture the walls of the spacious office. Dust swirled in the shafts of sunlight and the chiffon curtains danced in the soft breeze coming through the open windows.

Fairy Godmother opened the door and swept around the room to settle at behind the desk. Mal and Doug followed slowly, carefully entering the room to find that they weren't alone.

Doug sat down next to Evie on the chaise lounge in front of two windows. Jay was sat next to them listening to Carlos whisper something in his ear when Mal entered the room. Jane and Lonnie were also in the room, both sat on the chairs in front of Godmother's desk.

Mal shuffled forward a few steps when a secretary snapped the door closed behind her. She stumbled slightly and a hand shot out to steady her, his fingers gripping her elbow tightly.

Mal's heart hammered as she looked up at Ben's kind face. It took physical effort not to jerk her arm out of his hand. Behind the King, Harry was leaning against a bookshelf, scowling, his usually full lips were pressed into a thin line.

"Thanks Ben, I'm fine," Mal assured him, prising his fingers away from her skin. Ben's smile faltered for a split second and he nodded in reply.

"As I am sure you are all aware-" Fairy Godmother began, resting the tips of her fingers together so she could rest her chin on the apex of the digits. Mal's heart skipped several beats as she thought about the possibility that herself and Harry had been seen earlier that afternoon. "Doug placed a weekend pass request for you all so I have gathered you here to discuss it."

Mal saw Doug's tight posture relax, his shoulders dropping into a more natural shape, out of the corner of her eye. Mal herself let out a small sigh of relief. Her secret was still safe.

"A weekend pass?" Lonnie asked aloud, turning to Doug. "For what? For all weekend?"

"From this Friday night to early Sunday evening," Fairy Godmother told the room. "I have discussed it with your parents, tutors and other faculty members and we have all agreed that the pass can be given, for the entire weekend."

"Really Mom?" Jane's surprise was obvious as her jaw dropped and Evie squealed in delight behind her.

"To do what?" Ben wondered, still not up to date about the groups plans.

"My dad and uncles have given me the cottage so I wanted to take everyone. You know, to celebrate our first week back and to relax and stuff," Doug replied, slotting his fingers through Evie's as though it was second nature to him.

"Well, I wanted to tell you all in person because writing nine notes and then delivering them seemed to be too much work," Godmother laughed merrily, getting to her feet slowly. "I will also be personally dropping you off and placing a few enchantments around the property and the room, just to be on the safe side," Godmother told them sternly.

A succession of rapid knock rang around the room and a secretary's head appeared around the door. "Madame Godmother, you're appointment has arrived and I requesting to see you straight away," the young woman said, retreating once Godmother nodded.

"If I am not back in five minutes, please go to your afternoon lessons and do not be late." Godmother left quickly, leaving them alone.

"Is this really happening?" Lonnie asked Doug, swivelling on her chair to look him in the eye.

Doug nodded. "Yeah, I've already cleared it with my parents. The cottage belongs solely to me now so we won't be disturbed and there are old enchantments so we will be fine for three days."

"We're going to have a weekend to ourselves, off of the campus, alone," Evie grinned.

"Will the cottage sleep nine easily?" Jay asked Doug.

"It was Snow White and Seven Dwarfs Jay, of course it'll sleep all of us," Carlos replied sarcastically.

"No, I mean will we be sharing beds? Will we be in one big room? Will some of us be sleeping on sofas or hammocks or something?" Jay clarified.

Evie and Doug's cheeks darkened at this which made Mal smirk, her hands on her hip with a point look at the couple.

"Girls will be in one room and the boys in another presumably," Ben answered unsurely.

"Actually, there are several bedrooms now, so some will be sharing," Doug told him, not meeting the King's eyes.

"Can Lonnie and I?" Jane asked quickly.

"I'll room with Jay then," Carlos added.

"I guess Mal and Evie are going to be sharing so me and you Doug?" Ben said to which Doug shook his head, his cheeks rosy red now.

"Um, actually- Evie and, and I- we're going to share a room," Doug stuttered Mal bit back a laugh at the sight of the Auradon Kids. Jane and Ben looked flabbergasted whereas Lonnie was smirking. Jay and Carlos acted as though this was an obvious progression in their friends' relationship.

"You can't share a room!" Jane protested. "What will happen?"

Mal snickered and glanced at Harry. "They are their own people Jane, let them make their own decisions and choices," Mal told the girl gently.

"What do you have to say about this Ben?" Jane said hotly, snapping the King out of his daze.

"Um, I don't really know. I can't stop them Jane. Like Mal said, its up to them," Ben said slowly, as if calculating every word before he said it.

"So will you and Mal share a room then?" Jane continued, an air of disapproval surrounding every letter.

"No, they won't," Harry interrupted the King before he could say anything.

"This has nothing to do with you," Ben almost spat, not daring to look at the pirate. Instead, he looked at Mal. "Can we have a moment alone."

The rest of the room shifted and tried to dissolve the awkward tension that had settled over the duo by clearing their throats as they left for their next class. Harry was the last to leave with a lingering look into Mal's eyes which were still electric green.

Finally, it was just Mal and Ben facing each other in the quiet office. Ben opened and closed his mouth, effectively speechless. Mal took the opportunity to sit down on the chaise lounge as Ben struggled to get his thoughts straight.

"Where were you at lunchtime?" he asked, settling himself on one of the high backed chairs in front of the desk.

"I wasn't with Evie if that was what you were wondering," Mal replied slowly. "I hope that answers your question."

Ben nodded, his hair falling into his eyes as he looked at his shoes and his distorted reflection looking back up at him. Mal could just make out the frown on his face.

"Are you still practising magic?"

"What makes you think that?" Mal's voice was quiet and serious.

Ben didn't look up. "Your eyes are that shade of green again," he told his shoes.

"I did not purposely cast any magic today. They're green because of a hormonal change." It was based in truth and not an outright lie.

"Is this because I went to Aurora's castle without giving you proper notice?"

Mal surpassed a sigh and drummed her fingers on her knee. "No Ben, it isn't. I no longer feel the same way as I did. I don't feel like myself."

Ben finally looked into her eyes. "How did you used to feel?"

"I thought I was in love but I'm sorry. I was never in love with you, I think I just enjoyed the moments more. I would like to be removed from the court," she was only a few decibels above a whisper now.

"You never loved me? You've just been using me all this time?" She looked his balled up fists and annoyed expression and suddenly anger washed over her, burning away all of the sadness and guilt she had been feeling.

"No Ben. I was taken from my home and the person I did love. I was not allowed to write to him. You didn't give me time to explain things properly and then I was given a task by my mother and you became an annoying side effect and I cared for you Ben, I truly did.

"But then your mother drafted me into the court and I became the subject of Auradon media and I had to hide who I was. I couldn't do anything that felt natural to me without being branded as a threat to you and the kingdom, but if I did something uncharacteristically nice I was accused over using magic to entrap you! And I did! Don't you get it, we began because of a love potion and my evilness. I cannot hide the fact that I am evil in someways."

Mal huffed, on the verge of tears that she would not allow herself to shed.

"Evie told me that when you were pretending to be a VK on the Isle, you had said it was hard being something that you weren't. Well now you know how I have felt for the past six months. I am not a Auradon girl and when I went back to the Isle and fought Uma, I realise just how miserable I truly was."

Ben remained quiet and Mal continued to confess her feelings, unable to stop now that she had started.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Auradon Prep and I love having you as a friend but I can no longer put myself through the pain of being controlled within such a high profile relationship that makes me unhappy. Don't you see Ben, you don't even know the real me and the extent of the evil I have done. But I like doing magic and breaking rules and graffitiing things. I like sneaking off of school groups and getting drunk or doing the littlest things that are considered evil over here.

"I miss intimacy and being free on the Isle. Doing whatever I pleased without having hundreds of people I don't know criticising me or writing to tell me how my behaviour is unacceptable for a princess. I never wanted to be a princess or a lady of the court or to give up my magic!"

Mal was now stood up, breathing hard as she finished her rant, her anger leaving her as quickly as it had come on. Ben sat silent for a moment regarding her before he pulled her into the chair in front of him. "I returned your ring a few days ago." Mal expected that to be the final point in which Ben would being to crack.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I was trying to control you; I forbid you to do any magic and you've been scrutinised for every aspect of yourself," he apologised quietly and Mal groaned in frustration.

"No, you don't get it. I have done terrible things today and to you in general and you're just forgiving me for them!" Mal wanted Ben to retaliate, to be angry and shout at her, to fight for the relationship like she knew the pirate would.

"Was he your love back on the Isle?" Ben said instead and Mal took a sharp breath.

"How did you know?"

Ben cracked a watery smile. "I was held hostage by him Mal, he liked to brag and I'm not blind. His eyes follow you around the room. You met with him at lunch didn't you."

Mal nodded, not trusting her voice.

"I thought so," Ben said sadly. "Does Harry make you happy Mal?"

Harry did make her happy. He made her feel safe and content and he knew her body and heart better than she did but it was more than that. Harry pushed her limits and boundaries to their edges and breaking points. He made her be better, act smarter and work harder. He made her feel alive and as though she was the only girl in the world when he simply looked at her. Mal involuntarily smiled at what he had helped her achieve earlier that afternoon. He had pushed the limits of her magic and she had created life around them without saying a word, a feat she had never thought to be possible.

"He really does," she told the King with a dazzling smile. "He makes me feel like me Ben."

Ben let his head hang and he addressed his shoes once more. "I thought so. On the Isle he spoke of an unforgetable, wild girl; uncontrollable like sea and bursting with magic, but I had thought that that sounded nothing like you. I realise now that's because I don't know you Mal. I only know the character Auradon has forced you to be."

Her hand came out, right into his eye line. Ben sat up straight, looking confused as a small tear rolled down his cheek. Mal looked down at her outstretched hand with her eyebrows raised. Ben finally clutched it, wiping at his face with his other hand.

"My name is Mal, I'm the daughter of Maleficent and I am well skilled in the art of magic," she introduced herself, shaking their joined hands with a small smile.

"King Ben of Auradon. I enjoy playing tourney and I hope that my team makes it to the finals this year. It's nice to meet you Mal" he played along.

"Likewise King Ben. Do you by happen chance have History this period?" Mal asked playfully, letting go of his hand.

"Yes, I think I do. I can escort you if you would like," he held out the crook of his arm which Mal took, placing barely any pressure on his skin and they walked to History as friends, their relationship finally at the place where it could flourish; simply as friends and nothing more.


	12. Chapter 12

Various times through the week - various places

From that afternoon forwards, Mal and Ben fell into a natural and comfortable friendship, each feeling more at peace and relaxed within the others presence than they had done before.

Due to society appearances, prior commitments and lack of time though, neither Ben nor Mal had publicly addressed their changed relationship status. The media had yet to get wind of any trouble and since it was the first week back to lessons, the entire student body and the faculty had either not picked up on the change or were simply too busy with other things to care.

The only people who knew about the split were their friends and even then, it didn't change anything. Everyone around them could see how irresponsible and damaging it would have been if the pair had continued to date.

Evie and Doug seemed to be the only ones who ever saw Mal and Harry interact on a deeper level. Jay and Carlos had drafted the two pirates into the sports teams and neither of the villainous boys seemed too emotionally involved enough to care as they juggled school and sporting commitments. Lonnie and Jane's attentions were placed firmly on Evie and Doug so neither saw the touches that would happen over lunchtimes and in the hallways. Ben ignored the whispers and the gazes across classrooms so long as nothing was said blatantly in front of him.

Gil was the final person to find out as he had been in the infirmary on the Monday afternoon when Ben had told the group. He had been treated for a small bout of nausea after he had consumed too much food at lunch. Gil had sat down with his best friend and they had spent Monday night locked in their dorm room simply talking, skipping extra tutoring sessions and sports practises. Neither pirate would disclose the topics they had discussed but both seemed to carry themselves better, with straighter postures and higher held chins as if they had let the worries and weight off their shoulders go.

For the ten friends, Monday night revolved around tutoring, extra classes and sports sessions and Tuesday fared no better. Clubs began again on Wednesday and the group found it hard to do anything but promise to meet up the following day. Classes and homework dominated Thursday and the gloomy September weather crept in through chilly winds and frost on the grounds.

Mal's eyes had yet to transition back to their dormant green colour so she and Jane had spent their Thursday morning free period trawling through spell books to find a glamour spell strong enough to mask it, a feat which had been unsuccessful. Mal's irises had absorbed the magic from Jane's spell and seemed to glow brighter than before.

"Maybe he woke up some primal part of you," Evie sniggered over her pudding at lunch that Thursday, causing the two other girls to raise their eyebrows and turn on the purple-haired girl.

"What?"

"Who?" Lonnie demanded. "Did what? When?" The daughter of Mulan went so far as to elbow Mal who was sitting to her right. Lonnie was sat at the end of the long, bench-like table with the two VKs on either side of her. Jane was next to Evie, leaving the rest of the long table empty.

Mal groaned around her spoon and sent a glare across the table to the smirking Evie. "Nothing, it was an accident," she began but she could tell nobody was buying her excuse.

"Come on then, spill it Evie," Lonnie turned to the girl sat across from her, her arms folded and a brow raised in an intimidating expression.

Evie wilted under the stare and seemed unable to stop her mouth from opening. "Mal and Harry are seeing each other again, that's why her eyes are glowing, because he went dow-"

"Evie!" Mal cried, leaning over the table and slamming a hand over her friend's mouth with a horrified expression that matched Jane's.

"Harry Hook?" Jane asked and herself and Lonnie absorbed the information. "What do you mean 'again'?"

"Were you two something back on the Isle?" Lonnie pressed, resting her elbows in the table top and then leaning her chin against her palms, eyes wide with fascination and intrigue.

"Gods above Evie," Mal cursed and let go of Evie's face with a deep sigh. "We were something on the Isle yeah." The way she had paused and stumbled over the word 'something' made Lonnie feel as though it was an inadequate description, as if they had been miles more.

"Something?" Jane echoed her friends thoughts, confused. "Like boyfriend and girlfriend or something more or less... intimate?"

"I don't know. We never called each other boyfriend or girlfriend but-" Mal's eyebrows furrowed. "We were so much more but at the same time we weren't anything," she explained frustratedly, her spoon clattering down onto the table top.

Lonnie nodded along seriously before she smirked. "So what were you saying before you got rudely interrupted? He went down where?" She asked playfully, poking Evie in the arm.

"Jane cover your ears," Mal warned dejectedly, already accepting the fact that Evie would tell Lonnie. She gave her dorm mate a miniscule nod and Evie turned eagerly to Lonnie.

"Is that necessary?" Jane asked with a pout and Lonnie's grin was predatory.

"Penis," Mal said monotonously but even the word had Jane blushing furiously and her hands slapped over her ears and her eyes squeezed shut.

"Oh, so you did do something dirty," Lonnie snickered.

"Picture the scene," Evie began, dramatically dragging her hands through the air, as if to paint the picture. "Harry's leaning against an outhouse and he pins her against the brick but our sweet and delicate Mal begins to crack under the pressure. Guilty and frustrated, she cries. He leads her into the forest and he kisses her like she's never been kissed-"

"Oh Evie please," Mal tried to protest but she was shushed by the two girls so Mal simply rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, half heartedly playing with her spoon.

"Anyway, Harry kisses her within an inch of her life and then he's ruining her shirt and her bra with his hook and then he- well he, you know," Evie trailed off, suddenly becoming shy. A red blush began to creep up her neck and she looked away.

"He what? He what?" Lonnie cried, turning to Mal with her hands clasped in a prayer. "What did he do! Please, he did what?"

"I believe I gave her the best orgasm she's ever had," Harry's smooth voice was suddenly behind Evie and Lonnie and the two girls screamed and jumped in surprise. "She made flowers bloom around us."

Jane was humming out of tune quite loudly and was drawing the attention of numerous people. Evie and Lonnie's outbursts had not helped and now everyone within a three table radius was attempting to listen in.

"Did you? You didn't tell me that?" Evie said quietly as Harry sat down next to Jane, smirking at the girls. Doug and the rest of the boys were following slowly so Mal glared at the rest of the table.

"Do not mention this anymore," Mal whispered harshly as Doug dropped into the seat directly besides her with a confused smile as Jane still had her hands over her ears. "Girls I will tell you after dinner, I promise. And don't talk about it in front of him or else his head will explode with his super-inflated ego," Mal stuck her tongue in Harry's direction and his booming laugh was loud as it rung throughout the dining hall.

"'Fraid that's already happened, he got drafted to first string for the match next week," Gil joked as he caught the tail end of the conversation, placing his tray down next to Doug's.

"Yeah, I'm surprise he could even keep his head balanced upon his shoulders. Coach just drooled over him as he dodged Jay on the way back from our Governing class," Carlos grinned. Jay and the pirate were involved in a long-running game of 'tag' in which one would hit the other on the arm and then the other would try to do it back. Because both boys were so quick on their feet it had become a spectacle to watch them chase after each other between classes.

"Yeah well, we'll all be able to see that tomorrow night," Harry grinned, winking at Mal with a crooked grin. "Dougie's only just thought it worthwhile to tell me there's a river near the cottage so we'll be swimmin' too," Harry informed the group as the boys began to dig into the lunch.

"Really? Well, looks like I'll be beating your ass when we swim," Jay grinned and Lonnie groaned. The two had also been betting each other and turning everything into a competition.

"That a challenge mate," Harry egged him on with a gleam in his eye. Swimming was second nature to the pirate.

"Winner has to give up his dorm up for one night, the entire night," Jay proposed, sticking out his hand confidently.

"Hey! What about me and Gil?" Carlos complained, realising that he would probably be bunking with Gil for a night when the time to cash in on the prize came.

"Deal. Hope ya ready to burn every piece a furniture in ya room after I've done with it," Harry teased and Mal fought the blush that she knew was rising to her cheeks. She couldn't help but picture herself being bent over a desk. To her left, Lonnie's complexion was tinged with red.

Jane finally dropped her hands from her ears, confident that the more mature talk was over. "I spoke with my mom, she said Mr Thatcher has offered to drive us to the cottage because he's visiting relatives in the east and its not that far out for him."

"What time? It's definitely going to be Friday night right?" Carlos questioned her, staring at her so intently that Jane began to giggle hysterically.

Jay punched Carlos in the arm. "Knock it off dude," he warned as Jane took several deep breaths at Evie's prompting.

"Yeah, at five thirty tomorrow night outside the courtyard, in front of the statue with all of our bags," Jane told the group.

"Hey E, can I borrow that swimming costume again?" Lonnie returned the conversation back to what the girls had been talking about for days.

"Yeah, I also have some fun little designs that I worked on over summer," Evie's smile was bright and dazzling. "Doug, are we going to do it?"

Doug and Jay spluttered, the older boy going so far as to spit out the sip of juice he had taken. The pumpkin juice sprayed over the two pirates and Harry's hook came down onto the wood, splintering the surface as he wiped the drink from his eyes. Mal and Lonnie's jaws had dropped and both Carlos and Jane were blushing .

"What? Did I say something?" Evie questioned as Gil laughed at his best friend's reaction. The pirate took pity on the blue haired girl and repeated her last sentence.

Evie's eyes went comically wide and she shook her head. "No! No! I meant are we going to have the dinner party we talked about, not- not that," she muttered and the table dissolved into laughter and giggles.

Doug's glasses were slipping down his nose as he was still staring at his girlfriend, he had yet to blink so Jay elbowed him gently.

"Huh, oh ... yes we can. I spoke to one of my aunts and they said they would send someone to help. It'll probably be a deer or something." Doug's cheeks were aflame and he was still only looking at Evie as if she was the only one in the room.

Harry prised his hook from the table, holding it out in a semi-threatening manner to Jay. "Tonight on that field you're getting your arse whipped. Ya hear me!"

Jay grinned and fist bumped the hook as the bell signalling lessons rang. "I'm holding you to that Hook!"


	13. Chapter 13

5:23 pm - The Courtyard

"Where the hell is he!" Jane worried aloud, picking at a loose thread on her sweater as she double checked her watch once more.

"Relax, they've still got ten minutes," Evie replied, setting a hand on the other girl's arm comfortingly.

"Mr Thatcher is on his way now, look, he's bringing the car around so no I won't relax," Jane replied sharply, genuinely worried about the presence of their friends.

True to Jane's word, Mr Thatcher pulled a shiny black limo up to the curb in front of the two girls. Jane and Evie were the only ones ready with their cases as they had previously discussed. Evie was sat on top of her small wheeled case and Jane's weekend bag was at her feet.

"Wotcha girls," Mr Thatcher rolled down the passenger window and he greeted the girls with a grin. He lifted up his sunglasses and stared at them, both bundled up in winter coats and scarfs. "Where are the rest of you?"

Mr Thatcher climbed out of the car, dressed in a garish floral shirt and shorts; clothing more suited to the summer that had just passed rather than the winter they were entering. He didn't seemed to be affected by the chilly wind that was whipping around the courtyard.

Jane huffed her breath swirling in front of her face, and she began to pace around the statue as Evie rolled her eyes. "Can you help us with the bags Sir?" the blue haired girl asked as Jane shouted loudly. Dude was running across the school grounds, his tongue lolling from one side of his mouth to the other.

"Where have you been!"

Doug, Carlos and Gil were sprinting comically behind the dog, their bags in their hands as they ran to the two girls, chasing the dog. The trio slowed to an awkward jog and they threw their bags into the open trunk of the limo. Jane was tapping her foot as Doug leant against the tailgate, bent over huffing. Carlos and Gil weren't faring any better and Evie laughed as Gil clutched Carlos as both struggled for breath. Dude sat obediently as Evie's feet.

"Well? Why are you so late?" Jane repeated herself. "And where are Jay and Lonnie? She said she was going to come down with you three!"

"Jay and Lonnie are on their way," Carlos wheezed as Dude barked at him. "Yeah, well, I hope they're on their way."

"Huh? What does that me-" Jane gasped sharply and she turned to glare at Evie. "Is she?"

"Is who what Jane?" Evie asked, leaning into Doug's body as he wrapped her into a hug, her back to his chest. "I think you're missing a few words."

"Are Lonnie and Jay, you know," Jane's volume dropped dramatically and her eyes widened. "Are they doing things?"

Evie grinned. "If Jay knows whats good for him then yeah, I think so," she replied.

"Come on, lets get going!" Gil whooped to Carlos. "I'm so ready!" He was bouncing around like a puppy with a huge grin.

"We can't leave just yet. We're still missing five of you," Mr Thatcher interrupted and Jane promptly forgot about Lonnie and Jay's relationship.

The daughter of Fairy Godmother began to hyperventilate and Carlos wrapped an arm around her. Gil came forward and Jane gripped his hand tightly.

"Hey Jane, why don't you three get in the car and Doug and I will wait out here," Evie suggested kindly, not wanting to panic her friend.

"Yeah, come on, I wanna see if they still have the strawberry stuff," Gil squeezed Jane's hand and she gave him a wobbly smile.

"It's called liquorice," Jane told him as they climbed into the car. Mr Thatcher shut the door behind them and he went to the drivers seat, leaving Doug and Evie alone in the courtyard.

Evie turned and wrapped her arms around Doug's shoulder, taking full advantage of the few inches her heels gave over him. Doug appreciated the gesture as he buried his cold nose into her neck and his freezing fingers under her warm coat and jumper, pressing the icy digits to the skin of her back.

Evie shrieked, inadvertently pressing herself closer against Doug. He laughed into the crook of her neck and she rolled her eyes.

"We're sharing a room," Doug said slowly, testing the waters of the conversation. It was easier as he wasn't looking at his girlfriend so his courage remained. Doug knew that if he broached the subject looking into Evie's eyes, he would be reduced to a stuttering mess.

"I know, I have, er, packed something special," Evie's cheeks were red and she felt the heat rise from her skin.

Doug felt himself warm at the thought. "Really?"

"Uh huh, I have been making it for a while," Evie whispered into his ear. Doug pulled back and looked at her embarrassed face.

He kissed her gently but Evie tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Doug's hands went from the small of her back to her hips, gripping the soft flesh with a new sense of urgency that made Evie's heart double in pace. She opened her mouth, kissing him deeper than they had dared to before. Neither cared that they were in the middle of the school's grounds. Seconds and Minutes blended together until neither could tell when they had begun to kiss and if they would ever stop. A honk from the car startled the couple and they pulled away roughly, knocking noses and chins with delicate curses and fumbles.

Evie muttered and swore under her breath when she looked over Doug's shoulder and realised Jay, Lonnie, Ben, Harry and Mal were all stood at the opposite end of the courtyard. Their bags had been dropped to their feet and they began whooping and hollering. Evie couldn't help but wonder how long they had been stood there, watching the two kiss.

Mr Thatcher had rolled down the passenger window of the limo once more as he honked again. Jane, Carlos and Gil were hanging out of the back window and sunroof, grinning at the couple, or in Jane's case, almost as red as Evie was herself.

"Save it for the cabin wouldn't ya, like the rest of us," Harry grinned wolfishly as he and Jay grabbed theirs and the girl's bags, passing the two who were still motionless in the middle of the courtyard.

"Let's get going lovebirds," Mal sing-songed as she passed her best friend with a wink. Lonnie's arm was linked with Mal's and she wiggled her dark eyebrows as she mimicked loud kissing noises.

Ben was securing his backpack with a secretive grin. "I think Fairy Godmother is having a seizure," he whispered as he walked to the car, jerking his head to the Headmistress' office windows and the figure leaning against the glass with a horrified look on her face.

"Sweet Circe," Evie muttered, burying her face into Doug's shoulder. "Lets not go, we're just going to get teased," he felt rather than saw her pout and it made him laugh.

"Then who will keep the others in check? I'm pretty sure Lonnie and Jay will get more flack than us," Doug countered, leading his girlfriend to the car. "Anyway, there's a big double bed with our name written on it!"

6:57 pm - The cottage of the Seven Dwarfs

Mr Thatcher had put the dividing screen up at King Ben's request, granting the friends more privacy as they drove deeper into the island.

Gil and Carlos were either end of the limo, aiming small candies so that the other would be able to catch it in their mouth. It kept the ten friends occupied as they chatted and sung along to the songs on the radio. Mal sat next to Lonnie and Evie, keeping the two other girls away from their male counterparts. The trio gossiped and laughed along with Jane as the boys entertained themselves, constantly aware of the girls' laughter.

After what seemed like hours, Mr Thatcher rolled the limo to a smooth stop and the friends climbed out of the back of the vehicle, most stopping a few yards away to stare at the property in awe.

The cottage had extended and modernised. A thatched roof blended seamlessly into glass panels and wooden corners. Doug rooted around in his trouser pocket for a ring of keys and he made a sweeping gesture with his arm to the house behind him.

Small leaded windows on the ground floor were complemented by the lead outline of the larger panes of glass on the upper floors. Instead of adding a simple extension to the side, somebody had built upwards. Glass and wood seemed to be the main materials for the monetisation and it somehow blended into the surrounding woodland and the original cottage with ease, as if it had been there for hundreds of years.

Flowers grew in abundance around the property. There were numerous hanging baskets and window pots and ivy dripped and climbed up the north side of the house. A soft tinkling of water could be heard, although it was muffled by the sheer size of the forest around them.

"Thanks," Gil muttered distractedly to the teacher as he unloaded the bags from the boot for the awestruck group.

"This is the cottage of the seven dwarfs!" Lonnie asked with a massive grin as she turned to Doug with appreciative eyes.

"Well, it's mine now but yeah," Doug replied, picking up his and Eve's bags. He turned and began walking down the little path to the cottage's front door.

"Massive cottage, smart and a gentleman," Mal smirked as she linked her arm through Evie's and Lonnie copied on the other side. Jane was attached to Mal's other arm. "Good job you snapped him up E," Mal teased her best friend but Evie's wistful expression as her eyes followed her boyfriend meant that she didn't hear.

The interior of the cottage was just as impressive as the grounds and the house itself.

Everything was open and airy and the spaces flowed from one to another. As soon as Doug opened the barn-style door, the group were swept into a modern kitchen with light wooden furniture. Evie wandered through the kitchen and directly into a living area. There was no low like the kitchen ceiling, instead, the ceiling went all the way up. Exposed beams and the glass sky lights were high above and a mezzanine looked down onto the living area.

"Holy shit, look at that fire place," Evie gushed. A stone chimney breast went as high as the ceiling and dominated the side wall. On the back wall, large glass, sliding doors were being unlocked and pushed open by Ben and Jay, letting in the stiff breeze. A few shouts of complaint went around until they all made their way outside.

The stream Doug had mentioned briefly to Harry was running directly parallel to the house. There was a small wooden jetty and a natural bank.

"Its gorgeous," Jane said, drinking int he surroundings.

"We can enjoy it tomorrow hopefully, if its a bit warmer," Ben suggested, realising how cold it was in the September air.

The group migrated back into the house and Lonnie and Ben collapsed into the sofas. Carlos began to work on getting the fire in the log burner going. As he did that, with Gil, Jane and Jay all offering words of advice, Mal, Doug and Harry went to the kitchen to make something for their dinner.

"Theres some pasta in here," Mal told the boys as they rooted around the cupboards for the tinned good that Doug's mother had assured him would be enough to feed them for the entire weekend.

"I've got pasta sauce," Harry replied, his head deep in a cupboard.

Doug clapped his hands with a grin. "Pasta it is then."

The trio worked seamlessly as they found pots and pans. Doug filled up a pan with water and Harry hunted down some matches to light to old gas burner, the only appliance that hadn't been modernised. Mal measured out enough pasta and the three made some garlic bread and a side salad as the water boiled and the pasta cooked.

Doug did his best to ignore the flirty comments Harry would make, and he averted his eyes overtime a hand went somewhere inappropriate. Eventually, the food was ready, the fire was roaring and the ten friends were gathered around the long dining table, helping themselves to the food.

As Carlos, Gil and Ben cleaned up the mess and the kitchen, Lonnie yawned loudly, setting off a chain reaction.

Jane checked her watch as she fought to yawn along. "Goodness, its already ten thirty," she told her friends.

"Well, I don't know about you lot but I'm knackered," Ben said as he settled into the armchair, content to rub his full stomach. "Which bedroom is mine Doug?" he asked.

"Actually, that's a good point, what is the bedroom situation?" Jay asked, boneless on the other side of the sofa, barely awake.

"There's only seven bedrooms so some of us will be sharing, like Evie and myself for example," Doug began, red blossoming his cheeks as Harry wolf whistled.

"Ben, you're in the first room on the right," Evie told him kindly as the King yawned louder than before. Everyone was struggling to stay awake; all had full bellies and were being lulled to sleep by the distant sound of the water and the heat from the fire.

"I'm gonna head off then," Ben told the group. "I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Where am I Evie, I want to got to sleep too," Jane asked and Ben waited for her, already picking up the girl's bag as he collected his own.

"In the one to the left of Ben's. Then it's Carlos and then Gil." Evie hesitated and looked at Doug and then the remaining four around the sofa, and then to the others who had begun to climb the stairs and across the landing, still visible to the group in the living room if they looked up.

"They're sharing, it's alright you guys, we're not going to combust," Ben told Evie as he walked down the mezzanine to his bedroom door. "Night everyone!"

"Night Ben," they all chorused back in some way or another and Evie nudged Doug.

"Right well, Mal and Harry, you're on the last one to the left and Jay and Lonnie, the last on the right," he told the two couples. "Evie and I are in the bedroom down here."

Harry was wiggling his eyebrows at Doug and the half-dwarf stuck up his middle finger with a grin.

"Now go, I'm exhausted," Evie shooed them up, pulling Doug along with her. "Breakfast is going to be around nine thirty so please be awake," she asked her friends as Jay and Lonnie grinned at one another and Harry and Mal had a conversation through silent looks alone.

"Can't promise that E," Harry began, reaching out to capture Mal's hips. "I've got a hot date with a shower."

"A cold shower," Mal sassed back, turning her head so that his lips smacked onto her cheek rather than her mouth.

Jay howled with laughter as he grabbed his bag and threw Lonnie's to her.

"I don't know what you're laughing at, so have you," the daughter of Mulan told him with a cheeky grin and Jay's smirk dropped until Lonnie winked.

"Night," Evie told her friends, threading her fingers through Doug's as he turned the fire down once he returned form locking the front door. Someone upstairs turned off the living rooms lights and Evie led her boyfriend to the bedroom by the dying light of the embers.

Jay and Lonnie

Jay opened the door to the bedroom they were staying in and he whistled in appreciation. A small window seat was in front of a large window that he thought faced the front of the house. He would have to check the view in the morning as it was pitch black outside.

"Oh gods, look at the size of that bed," Lonnie said as she closed the door behind her and threw herself onto the large mattress. Jay laughed along as her body bounced on the springs.

"Soft?" he questioned as she perched herself on her elbow.

"Come try out for yourself," Lonnie replied and she squealed when Jay jumped beside her, making her rise from the mattress on impact.

"I am so glad this is happening. We all deserved this," Lonnie said aloud, snuggling into the soft duvet with a satisfied sigh.

"Mal nearly drowning," Jay began to list things that had happened to them over the past week.

"Harry and Mal becoming something," Lonnie added.

"Ben returning and finding out he was single."

"Realising Smee was a defected pirate."

"You nearly getting caught in my dorm room by Godmother."

"Giving you a hand job in the gym," Lonnie giggled as Jay groaned. The couple hadn't been quiet about their relationship, but Lonnie had only just become comfortable with the physical aspect of it. They had only just branched out, getting further than makeup sessions in the store cupboards of the sports hall.

"Definitely need some work there," Jay told her, laying flat on his back so that she couldn't see his silly grin.

"You weren't complaining at the time," Lonnie purred.

"Hard to when you're kissing me," Jay retaliated, rolling over so that he was hovering over his girlfriend. "I'm just thinking that it would be beneficial to practise more, that's all."

Lonnie snorted as she laughed. "You're such a horny pig."

"What can I say, you bring out the best in me," he grinned, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"I get something in return," Lonnie asked, tangling her fingers in the curtain that Jay's long hair had created.

"This your way of telling me 'yes' to the next step," he asked, wanting to clarify exactly what she wanted.

Lonnie rolled her hips and kissed him again. "Harry made Mal bloom flowers around them. Wanna see if you have any magical skills," she teased as Jay growled and kissed her fiercely.

Doug and Evie

Evie felt along the wall to her left, using her sense of touch to find the light switch. The couple had been plunged into darkness when the light the main living area had been turned off and Doug had closed the bedroom door, so Evie led them through the small corridor which passed a bathroom and a closet, into the main bedroom area by the moonlight filtering through the large window.

"Leave it off," Doug tugged on Evie's hand and slowed her to a stop when she neared the light switch. In the lowlight, Doug could only just make out her facial features but he didn't mind. He knew what his girlfriend looked like; he saw her dace when he closed his eyes.

Evie's teeth glinted in the moonlight as she smiled at her boyfriend. Evie reached out, dragging her spare hand up his arm and walking her fingers across his chest slowly. She breathed out a shaky breath as she cupped Doug's cheek gently.

"Take off your heels already," Doug complained with a grin. Evie snickered and she used one of Doug's shoulders to anchor herself as she unzipped her heeled boots. Evie dropped several inches as she pulled the boots off and tossed them onto the carpet with a dull thud.

Now, Evie was the one who had to crane her neck in order to capture Doug's lips. She did so softly, going slow at first as they simply kissed. After several moments, Evie opened her mouth as she felt Doug's hand wander down the expanse of her back and down around her hips.

They exchanged no words as Evie untangled herself from his arms in order to tug at Doug's sweater, pulling it clean off his body and taking his glasses with it.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Evie mumbled, afraid to raise her voice in case she broke the spell that had descended upon the room. She began to lean down when Doug stopped her.

"Leave them, I can see you just fine," he assured her, taking her hands so that he could take her own shirt off.

Evie felt rather than saw him take a deep breath as he dropped her shirt to their feet. His chest expanded as he gasped and Evie fought the urge to cover herself under his gaze. They had gotten this far already. The couple had spent an afternoon slowly discovering the other's skin but they had yet to seal the deal.

"You're gorgeous Eve, you know that right," Doug whispered and Evie kissed him in reply, gripping either side of his jaw in her hands. Doug kissed her deeply, pouring all of his unspoken emotions into the gesture.

Evie was quickly becoming breathless at the contact and she pulled her boyfriend to the large double bed, pushing him onto the mattress when his knees hit the bed frame.

Evie wasted no time in shimmying out of her skirt and tights. She felt a surge of confidence overtake her as she stood in front of Doug in only her underwear. Suddenly, the words left her involuntarily, "I love you." She blurted them out but instead of feeling embarrassed, Evie reached around and unhooked her bra.

"I love you too," Doug was looking into her eyes and not at her newly exposed chest and it made Evie grin. She leant down slowly, laying directly onto of the boy. With a wicked grin, she licked at his lips and then nipped his jawline.

"This is all for you tonight, so you need to take the lead alright," she whispered huskily into the column of his neck. Doug grumbled as Evie bit at his jugular.

Both knew that Doug was nervous and his shaking hands as they gripped at the flesh on her hips made it obvious.

"We have all night, you take as long as you need," Evie reassured him with a gently kiss to the mark she was creating.

Doug gulped under her lips and tongue and his hands ran up her sides. He could feel her breasts on his naked chest and the warmth and her curves were driving him slowly insane.

"Love you," Evie whispered against his skin and it was the verbal boost Doug needed; he rolled them over so he was settled in between Evie's thighs and he kissed her collar bones and her upper breasts, much like Evie had on his neck.

Evie let out a quiet moan as one of Doug's hands cupped her breast suddenly. The other was above her head, his fingers tangled in her blue hair as he lent on the elbow and kissed along her shoulder.

Doug's confidence grew as the noises Evie was making became louder and more frequent as he switched his attention between her breasts and neck. Evie arched her back and raked her nails down Doug's back which made his thrust forward without thinking.

"Gods Evie," he muttered into her hot skin. Evie had hooked her leg around his narrow hips so when he had surged forward, their pelvis' connected and Doug's hardness brushed against Evie's panties, the only thing she was still wearing.

"Take them off," Evie breathed the order out and her boyfriend wasted no time in following her wish. He peeled himself from her body and stood up, slipping out of his trousers and socks. Evie covered herself with her arms, protecting herself from the chill in the room.

"Cold?" Doug questioned with a grin. Evie pouted in reply and pretended to shake, making her breast move in a way which captivated the man before her. She watched him shake his head in an attempt to refocus.

"Get under the cover you idiot," Doug grinned, pulling the blankets out from under her body. She laughed and he joined her, kissing her as she settled the blanket over his shoulders.

"I don't know what I'm doing now," Doug told her after some time simply kissing.

This was as far as the couple had ever come. Neither had seen each other fully naked and so their hearts were hammering in their chests. Evie was surprised Doug couldn't hear hers as it seemed to be beating out of her chest.

"We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with. I know virginity is important in Auradon," Evie told him, slowing her wandering fingers over his torso.

"Are you kidding," Doug laughed, pressing his hips into hers and making her gasp and arch under him. "I have never felt more alive than right now," he said with a blush. "I want to show you how much I love you Evie but I am afraid I have no clue what to do from now."

Evie kissed him and pushed him over so that he was laying on his back. "I'll show you then," she said, slipping out of her underwear in the same movement that she used to straddle Doug's thighs. He swore when her hot skin came into contact with his.

Evie smirked as he groaned. She traced a fingertip lightly over the waistband of his boxers, alternating between stroking through the small trial of dark hair and the fabric itself.

"Please don't tease me," he begged as she outlined him.

"You tease me all the time, this is just a taste of your own medicine Doug," Evie reached down and kissed near his navel, revelling in the feeling of his abdominal muscles contracting.

Evie looked up into his eyes and saw Doug nod to her with a smile and her heart skipped a beat. The butterflies and nerves in her stomach doubled but her own arousal was overpowering her anxieties. She could feel Doug's against her thigh and it made her act.

In a swift move, she pulled his boxers down and she knelt above him as he kicked them off his legs. The moonlight dimmed as it filtered through a cloud but neither cared. Evie used her fingers to feel Doug and she had her eyes closed as he returned the gesture.

Both were panting and perspiring by the time Evie had had enough of the tortuous mapping and tracing. Neither exchanged any words as Evie sunk down, feeling herself adjust to the new sensation.

Doug sat up, wrapping his arms around Evie. She waited for him to give her a signal or a sign that they could move but she was content to just be held as he gasped and struggled for breath underneath her.

Doug rolled his hips unexpectedly and it took Evie a second to realise the breathy moans echoing around the room were her own. Doug's lips latched onto her breast and Evie anchored herself with one hand on his shoulder and the other in his messy hair. Evie rose slowly and the pair fell into a gentle rhythm, content to make the moment last for as long as possible.

Doug's fingers made painful impressions in her skin as Evie sped up but she didn't mind, instead, the pressure made her double her efforts as Doug began to groan. He bit as the swell of her breast and Evie couldn't help but feel the tension knot in the pit of her stomach tighten.

Together, the couple kissed and touched, helping each other chase the pleasure that was close at hand. Both were panting and moaning, chanting each others name as Evie tilted back and Doug buried his face in her chest. He began to thrust upwards to the best of his ability and Evie was tugging at his hair and leaving half-moon crescents as her nails pierced his skin.

He roared as he came, gripping her skin so hard he was certain there would be bruises the next morning. After a few more thrusts, Doug fell back onto the mattress boneless and breathless. He watched with hooded lids as Evie brought herself to climax, riding him harder than before until she suddenly clenched and her face froze in a silent 'o'.

Evie let herself fall forward as she lived out the aftershocks, a final few waves of pleasure as she gasped on his sweaty chest.

"Gods above," Doug whispered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He began to laugh, his chest vibrating and rising under her head and it made her sit up to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

Evie giggled along and soon, both were on the verge of tears, laughing so much they were silent. She rolled off of Doug, conscious that she was half-crushing him, and he groaned at the loss of her warmth, his fingers on her back. Evie picked up the discarded blanket from the foot of the bed and she looked herself into Doug's side.

"So you love me," she said into his skin with a coy smile.

Doug turned onto his side and kissed her shoulder. "Watch it E, you have something precious now," he sassed sleepily.

"Your virginity?" Evie replied through a snicker as Doug yawned loudly and then he scoffed.

"That was a terrible joke. No, I meant my heart," he told her, closing his eyes and wrapping them in the blanket.

"That was cheesy," she replied but Doug was already asleep with the girl of his dreams in his arms.


	14. Chapter 14

Mal and Harry

Harry followed Mal up the staircase, his eyes watching her hips move as she climbed the steps. Mal said goodnight to Jay and Lonnie with a swift wink when the two couples parted and she entered the bedroom they were sharing.

Harry turned the main light off in the hallway before he followed Mal into the room. He shut the door behind him, plunging the room into darkness. Mal turned on her heel when the pirate locked the door, a loud noise in the quiet room.

"Your eyes," Harry murmured, reaching out to touch Mal's cheek gently. Her irises looked as though they had been backlit and they were glowing. "Kiss me," he breathed as he pulled her closer, running his fingers through her hair. Their lips met in the softest of kisses.

Mal smiled and leant into him, allowing him to wrap his arm around her back and to drag his hook down the side of her face. She shivered at the contact of the cool metal. Harry pressed a second kiss to the tip of her nose and Mal giggled, turning her face so that she could cover her smile with her hand.

"What?" Harry grumbled, annoyed at how quickly his body had responded to the feeling of Mal pressed against him and how uncomfortable his trousers had become in seconds. The pirate pouted dramatically as Mal's giggles turned into laughter. He adjusted himself as she buried her face in his neck.

"It's just that you're being all kissy but you've got a bloody hook on my cheek," she snorted, pushing him away slightly so that she could double over and laugh harder.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows and he used the point of his hook to bring Mal's chin up, like he had when they had been on the Isle. It had always made Mal gulp and shiver with heat. The point made a small indent in the smooth expanse of her skin, the column of her neck becoming longer as he forced her chin higher so that she was looking directly into his eyes.

"Still feel like laughing?" he asked slowly. Mal swallowed as she sobered up. She shook her head and he broke out into a Cheshire Cat like grin. "Want a shower then," Harry lowered his voice into a gravelly whisper and Mal blinked several times.

"Uh huh," Mal swallowed again, squirming under Harry's piercing stare as a fire ignited in her belly.

The pirate set his hook down on one of the bedside tables and then he held out his hand, palm side up, so that Mal could slide her own into it. When her skin came into contact with his, a jump of electricity shot through her and the pit of her stomach, fanning the flames.

Harry lead her to the ensuite, flicking the switch on as he went passed it. The bathroom was modern; white tiles and a marble countertop was topped by a large mirror. Harry pulled Mal in front of him and mirror, placing her in the centre of the mirror. She looked at her reflection and watched, mesmerised, as Harry stood right behind her, admiring her.

He swept her hair to one side, the purple locks tumbling over one shoulder to exposed the other. Harry looked up from under his lashes as he kissed her across her jaw and down her neck. Mal melted back into his chest, alternating between closing her eyes and sighing softly and watching Harry's lips dance across her collarbone in the mirror.

The ability to see what he was doing to her made Mal a little crazy and she allowed her mind to wander to dirtier situations and ways to use the mirror to their advantage.

"Why don't you turn of the shower," Harry whispered, stepping back with a smirk. Mal stumbled slightly and she gripped the marble counter to steady her weak knees. The beginning of the teasing had sparked her interest already.

"Fine," she replied, looking him dead in the eyes via the mirror. Mal gripped the ends of her t-shirt and tugged the material over her head, leaving her in her jeans and bra. She twisted and leant over, brushing up against Harry's torso as she reached to turn the shower faucet on.

Harry sucked in a breath, hissing through his teeth as he looked down to see Mal's skin under the dim bathroom lights. She grinned up at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, knowing exactly what she was doing to the pirate. The shadows and planes of her body were being illuminated by the several soft lights, all complimenting her curves and accentuating them.

Slowly steam began to rise and curl around the couple but both were simply staring at each other, having a silent conversation through looks alone. Harry was beginning to sweat under his jacket and Mal quickly realised as a sheen began to form on his brow.

Her fingers brushed down over his chest and under the lapels of his thick jacket, peeling it down from over his shoulders until it fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Harry tilted his chin back and Mal pressed a kiss to his stubbled neck as she balled up the fabric of his t-shirt and up over his head, dropping it down onto the floor to gather with the jacket.

She couldn't help herself; her fingers traced the inky lines of the tattoos on his muscled stomach which flowed up over his chest. She could feel his chest vibrate when he hummed in appreciation. Becoming a captain of his own ship had helped Harry's body in ways Mal had never imagined. He had always been strong and broad but the sunshine had tanned his skin and he looked healthy and fit.

Mal shimmied out of her tight jeans, playing up the act so that it became a performance. Harry made a noise in the back of his throat that was half whine, half growl and reached out to grip her hips, roughly pulling her close so that their bodies were pressed together and she could feel his excitement against her stomach.

"Think we should skip the shower, don't you," he said between kisses and Mal wriggled out of his grip with a slow smile.

"Huh uh, you wanted a shower so a shower is what you're getting mister," Mal sassed and she quickly divulged herself of her underwear and went to stand under the shower head, leaving Harry to fumbled with his trousers and underwear.

Under the hot spray of water, Mal rolled her neck and allowed the pressure to sooth her back and neck, systematically relaxing the muscles as Harry walked into the larger than average shower cubicle and settled himself behind her.

The mood sobered from aroused to content as Harry helped Mal wet her hair under the spray. Somebody had left some products on a shelf in the tiled wall and Harry took it upon himself to lather Mal's hair into soapy bubbles.

Mal poured some shampoo into the palm of her hand as she turned around, and she stood on her tip toes and lathered Harry's messy hair into bubbles, like he was for her own.

They helped each other wash the bubbles off as they kissed languidly. Harry picked up a flannel and he soaped the material up and began wiping the soap along Mal's collarbones, slowly teasing her.

The heat from the water had made her skin pink under the light and Harry swept the flannel down her sternum. He swallowed as he circled her breasts, leaving a trail of soap behind as he ghosted over her pebbled nipples. Mal took a sharp gasp as his hands teased over her sensitive nubs and around the soft flesh of her chest.

It took serious restraint on Harry's part not to bend and capture a nipple or tease her further. Instead, he continued down her stomach and over her hipbones. Mal was facing Harry and he could see into the mirror and the pale expanse of Mal's back and the swell of her arse, fulling his arousal further.

Mal leant back against the cool glass of the shower wall, squeaking at the temperature difference. Harry sunk to his knees without removing his eyes from Mal's face or the flannel from her hot skin. He continued his decent down over her pelvis and down her thighs, skimming his hands over calfs and then back up her legs. He could only see her shoulders and head in the misty reflection now.

Mal was breathing deeply, her fingers locking into his wet hair as Harry abandoned the task of soaping her up, instead, he focused on what was right in front of his nose.

It was not the first time he had seen Mal in all of her naked glory, but this moment felt sweeter, more important that all of the other times they had been together on the Isle of the Lost. This time Harry felt as if they were more than just two people enjoying the feel of another body; they were partaking in an act of something deeper. Something more loving and intimate.

Mal pulled his head closer to her body and he complied, his nose skimming along her navel as he fumbled behind him, blindly turning the shower pressure down so that it was barely trickling. The halt to the warm water made goosebumps blossom over Mal's skin and her nipples became stiff peaks, aching almost as her body responded to being touched.

Harry's fingers ghosted up the back of her legs, dispelling droplets of water as he made it to the apex of her thighs. Mal sucked in a breath as Harry dragged the tip of his finger up her slit, revealing in the way that her crotch surged forward from the glass at the slight contact.

"Wound up are ya?" Harry said but Mal's groan made him smirk and re-evaluate his attention to her body. Water dripped from Harry's hair and he chased them with his tongue, finally tasting Mal's arousal on his tongue and the girl hissed in pleasure.

"Fuck," she swore, raising a hand so that she could bite on the soft flesh of her palm. Mal was conscious of the people presumably asleep on the other side of the bathroom's walls but Harry nipped at her most sensitive part until a keen wail erupted from Mal's throat.

"Harry- the, the others," Mal breathed out as two fingers began to trace the outskirts of her entrance. Harry seemed to take this as a challenge and he was knuckles deep within a second, making Mal see stars and black spots for a moment. A loud intake of breath turned into a moan and Harry laughed against the bundle of nerves in between his lips, making Mal's eye squeeze tightly shut.

The water was no longer flowing as Mal had accidentally turned the faucet off when she had been looking for something to grip onto, and the tiled room made every heartbeat and breath seem louder. Mal could no longer care about the way she was making guttural noises, or the wet slurping Harry's mouth crudely made. Instead, she was focused on one goal; making the tension knot of anticipation and pleasure in the pit of her stomach explode as soon as possible.

All Mal could focus on was the feel of Harry's fingers twisting and plunging, retreating and teasing deep within her, much like he had when they had been secluded in the forest. The same build of pleasure and the same loving, safe feeling was all she could comprehend as he licked and nipped at her clit whilst massaging her inner walls with a satisfied smirk which she could feel against her skin.

Harry looked up through his lashes but Mal was leaning on the wall at an angle so he could only see the tilted point of her tipped back chin and her breasts moving as she huffed and moaned, practically grinding herself onto Harry's hand and face.

The pirate knew her body almost better than she did. He knew that when she began to quietly chant his name, almost as though she was praying, that she was close. Her nails were embedded into his scalp and his shoulder and Harry retreated quickly.

Mal cursed and her legs faltered as Harry stood up with a grin. Mal's eyes were a deep green and he could tell she had been on the verger of an orgasm.

"What the fuck?" She hissed, reaching out to grab at the pirate but he smirked and climbed out of the shower.

"I've waited seven months ta take ya again, I ain't doin' it in a shower," he practically purred as he used a hand towel to dry his body and his hair.

Mal shivered at the cold air and the way Harry's body looked slightly damp. He had droplets of water running down his back and over his chest, running through the grooves of his defined muscles and meeting at the V of his pelvis. Mal's eyes appraised his torso and she broke out into a small smirk when she looked at the muscle between his strong thighs, ready and waiting and all because of her.

It gave her a new sense of power, confidence and hunger. Mal waved her hand over her hair and her magic seeped over it, drying the purple locks instantly. She felt alive and as if her magic was overflowing from within her, so was the effect the pirate had on her.

"Holy shit," Harry said, picking up on the primal energy that seemed to have overtaken the girl. Mal's eyes were twinkling and bright as she all but threw herself onto Harry.

The pirate swore at the feeling of Mal's skin on his, neither separated by clothing but her lips were on his in seconds and she kissed his surprise away. Mal had gained some height when she had jumped and she had been able to wrap her legs around his torso, hovering just a inch or two shy from Harry's throbbing member.

The pirate wasted no time in walking them to the large double bed, too eager and turned on to bother with any more teasing.

"How," he whispered on her lips as he gently knelt down, settling Mal's body onto the mattress below.

"I wanna look into your eyes," she replied as Harry reached between their bodies to run a finger through her slick heat. Mal mewled and arched her back. "Please, Harry, please," she begged quietly and Harry kissed her jaw.

He manoeuvred himself so that he was caging Mal's head within his forearms and he used his hand to guide himself to her entrance. Harry kissed her deeply, pouring all of the emotions he had not allowed himself to feel in over half a year as he pushed into her, swallowing both of their cries as they joined.

When he was buried within her to the hilt, Harry ran his free hand up her body from where it had been gripping her hipbone, over her ribcage and around her breasts. He used it to cup her face as Mal kissed him eagerly, allowing both of them time to adjust to sensation of the others body.

Neither had been with anybody since each other and they feel into the pre-existing routine easily, as if it had been minutes not months that they had been separated.

Mal eventually rolled her hips and Harry swore into the crook of her neck, his long hair flopping into his eyes as he slowly withdrew and then pushed back into her warmth quickly, making Mal's breath catch in her throat.

A thick sense of lust and need overtook the pirate and his hips began to piston, surging and retreating from her body in a way that hit a part within her that had her back arched and her eyes rolling back.

"Sweet Circe Harry," Mal groaned when he angled her hips in a way in which made Harry's pubic bone meet her sensitive clit every time her bottomed out.

Spurred on by the piercing feeling of Mal's nails in his back and her cries in his ears, Harry knelt up onto his knees as Mal arched back rose from the mattress for a moment after a particularly deep thrust. He gripped at her hipbones so tightly he was certain he would leave a bruise. He used the difference in angles to pull one of her nimble legs onto his shoulder.

"Oh gods," Harry breathed as Mal bit her palm to stop her scream-like wails.

"Fuck," she swore quietly as the bedroom was filled with sounds of flesh hitting flesh, laboured breath, moans and creaking from the bed frame.

The new angle and the possessive expression on Harry's face meant that Mal was the on the edge and she was struggling to contain the pleasure deep in her bones.

"Harry, please, I'm gone-"

"Come for me then Mal, I love you," he cut her off, doubling his speed as he began to play with her clit like a man possessed.

Mal began to dimly understand his confession but her orgasm crashed over so violently that she began to shake and her eyes rolled back into her head. She could see stars and barely registered Harry coming deep within her with a roar. She could hear herself saying something but all she could see were black spots in her vision and all she could feel was a bone-deep pleasure ripping through her body.

Harry felt as though he was having an out of body experience. He had his eyes screwed shut tightly as he weakly thrusted through their orgasms. Mal's thighs were shaking against his chest and hip and she was chanting his name as he was hers. He felt like a rag doll when he finally released Mal's leg and collapsed at her side.

She was still saying his name with her head tilted back and her eyes shut. Mal had a satisfied smile on her face and she was shaking ever so slightly. Harry rested a hand over her navel and he caught his breath as he watched her bask in the aftershocks of her orgasm.

After what seemed like hours, Mal eventually opened her eyes and looked at the pirate to her side. Her eyes were still acidic green but she had a thin layer of tears misting her sight.

Harry panicked for a moment and he reached for the blanket to cover them. Mal sniffled and scoffed as he tucked her into his side slowly.

"What's wrong my love?" he asked her as she traced her shaking fingertips over his pectorals.

"Its stupid really," Mal sniffled in reply. "I'm ruining a perfect moment by crying," she said sadly.

"Nothin' ya could do would ruin this moment fer me," Harry kissed her temple. "What is it then?"

"Do you really?" Mal questioned quietly. "Because no-one ever has before."

"Really what?"

Mal licked her lips and tilted her head on his chest so that she could look at him. "Do you love me?"

Harry took a sharp breath and looked into her eyes. He swallowed nervously and then rested his head on his left arm, keeping the other around Mal's shoulders. He knew that the daughter of Maleficent didn't think her mother loved her and that anything he would say would impact her for the rest of her life.

"Yeah, I always have," he said simply. "Wanted to tell ya on the Isle. Almost did so many times but I always thought it would end up hurting us both. Sorry I said it." He stiffened under her cheek, worried about her reaction.

"I love you too." Mal threw her leg over Harry's and he slowly relaxed. Mal's breathing deepened and she fell asleep in his arms as Harry grinned like a god.


	15. Chapter 15

9:13 am - The kitchen

Jane whistled a familiar tune as she acquainted herself with the numerous cupboards in the kitchen. The majority were empty. Jane had the logs on the fire stoked and a warm heat had settled over the open plan living space. It was seeping through to the kitchen but Jane was dressed in thick pyjamas and woollen socks.

"Are we gonna make pancakes or eggs?" Carlos asked from the other side of the island. The pair were dancing along to the radio station playing, sliding around in their socks on the tiled floor.

Jane paused to think. "Why not both? I mean, who will be here to eat the eggs once we leave?" she questioned as she twirled towards the fridge.

"Good point, both it is then," Carlos replied and he piled the ingredients to make pancakes into his arms.

The pair then worked effortlessly as Carlos whipped up the pancake batter and Jane cooked eggs and bacon strips. Once they were done and had plated the food up, they finally looked at each other.

"Not it!" Carlos shouted suddenly and Jane had to stop herself from stamping her foot.

"I am not waking them up, they're your best friends."

"They're your friends too Janey, and besides, I'm sure they're already awake," Carlos grinned as he poured himself some orange juice as Jane frowned.

"But what if they're doing something now," she dropped her voice to a whisper. He could see how nervous Jane was at the prospect as she began to breath deeper than before.

"Alright, alright," he said, wanting to avoid a panic attack before it even started. "I'll go wake upstairs if you wake up Doug and Evie," he countered and Jane smiled at the trade.

"Deal," she said already halfway across living area towards the lower floors bedroom door.

Carlos rolled his eyes and hoped that Jane was going to knock before she entered. He climbed back up the stairs and knocked on Ben's door. The King opened it before Carlos finished knocking and the pair shared a startled laugh.

"Oh Carlos, I was just coming down to help with breakfast," the King said as he exited his room.

"Don't worry, Jane and I have already done it. Just coming to wake everyone up," Carlos told the young man.

Ben laughed. "Good luck with that."

The two parted ways as Ben descended the stairs and Carlos began to knock on Gil's door. After nearly a minute of knocking, a deep grumble answered him and a few seconds later Gil opened the door with messy hair and mismatching pyjamas. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly woke up properly.

"Morning', when's breakfast?" was all Gil said sleepily and Carlos pointed him towards the stairs with a friendly smile and shake of the head.

He took a wary breath next, not wanting to take any steps closer to the two doors in which two of his best friends and their respective partners were doing who knows what.

Carlos looked between the two and mentally decided that Jay and Lonnie's room would be safer than that of Mal and Harry's. Gil's laughter echoed up from the kitchen table and it made Carlos move. He knocked on the door and then opened it when he heard a faint noise which he mistook for a command to enter.

On the bed, a shirtless Jay was flat on his back with his hair dangling off of the mattress like a glossy curtain. Perched on his torso was Lonnie with bare thighs and a large, oversized t-shirt and an easy grin.

Carlos averted his eyes and told the pair about breakfast.

"Already eaten though haven't I," Jay snickered and Lonnie rewarded his comment with a sharp flick to his pectorals. Both Carlos and Lonnie were blushing ever so slightly and Carlos excused himself quietly. He silently hoped that Mal and Harry were doing nothing as he had already been embarrassed enough.

Carlos crossed the small hallway and knocked on the couples door, crossing his fingers that they were either still asleep or fully dressed. Behind him, Lonnie and Jay left their room, already deep in a joking conversation.

"Come in," Mal called and Carlos swore quietly to himself as he entered the room carefully.

Mal was sat on the edge of the bed and she was pulling on some slipper booties. She looked up and smiled brightly when Carlos had fully entered the room.

"Carlos," she hummed happily. Mal got up and wrapped her arms around the boy who repeated the action with a confused expression. Her eyes were still a bright and illuminated green which made Carlos uncomfortable as they seemed to flash when she saw him.

"Moooooring Mal," he replied suspiciously. "What's got you so happy this early in the morning?"

"Do ya really wanna know," Harry said as he exited the bathroom without a shirt. He was only dressed in some low slung pants and Carlos rolled his eyes as he unwound Mal's arms from his shoulders.

"Actually, scratch that I don't," he told the couple. "Come on, we just waiting for you two so we can start breakfast."

"Yay, I'm starving," Mal elongated the syllables and Harry grinned.

"Can't satisfy ya can I eh?"

Mal simply winked in reply as she threw a jumper Harry's way which hit him square in the chest.

"Come on lover boy, breakfast," she purred as she pushed gently past Carlos who looked terrified at the pet name Mal seemed to be giving the pirate.

10:56 am

The ten friends ate breakfast together, laughing and joking as they shared stories and inside jokes over the long breakfast. Eventually, the last of the food had been consumed and they were simply sat around the table with happy smiles and the Auradon kids released their curiosities.

"So did you ever steal anything?" Jane asked with wide eyes. The VKs looked at each other with glints in their eyes.

"Why don't we just play 'never have I ever'," Evie suggested, recognising the pathway they were venturing down, and a round of agreement went through the group.

"Never have I ever stolen something," Doug repeated Jane's question in the same style of the game and all of the VKs lifted their hands along with Lonnie and Doug himself.

Jane gasped. "You've both stolen something?"

Lonnie nodded. "Yeah but it wasn't a major thing. I took one of my mother's practice swords after she told me not to bring it to school. It's under my bed right now."

"And you Doug?" Ben asked after Lonnie explained herself.

"I don't really know if it counts but I took a bouquet of flowers from the gardens for Evie a few months back," he said and Evie kissed his cheek.

Ben took on the role of indifference. "That doesn't count so you haven't stolen anything."

"Never have I ever skipped class," Lonnie said, moving the game along. All of the VKs except Evie raised their hands and surprisingly, Ben also raised his.

Gil raised an eyebrow at the King. "You've skipped a class?"

"Several actually. I'm enrolled in so many stupid classes that sometimes I just lock myself in my office instead and pretend I'm doing royal duties."

"Never have I ever used or gotten somebody else to use magic to help me in any sort of way," Jay smirked at Jane who raised her hand timidly. Every single person besides Gil and Doug had their hands raised. Gil was elbowing Harry in the side.

"Come on then, out with it Hook. Who used the magic and what for?" Evie sighed as the two pirates elbowed each other violently, Harry obviously threatening his best friend through the murderous look he was giving Gil.

Gil chuckled. "I remember it like it were yesterday," he began dramatically and as Harry opened his mouth to protest, Mal and Jay placed their hands over his lips so that Gil could continue.

"We were nippers, barely eleven and Harry here was convinced he had caught the eye of a lass in one of the local pubs. Older girl, obviously made her way around a few times if ya know what I mean," Gil winked and Jane looked puzzled.

"She would sell her body Jane, that's what he means," Evie told the girl out of the side of her mouth.

"You mean...?"

"Like a prostitute? Well yeah," Carlos filled in for Evie from Jane's other side. Jane looked both horrified and highly curious. She had also subconsciously leant away from the two pirates so she was now leaning on Carlos' arm. The Auradon kids flinched at the harsh reality of how life on the Isle went.

"Anyway, he dragged me to a local hag and payed for a potion that would enhance him for the night. Safe to say it went so wrong," Harry was scowling now as laughter rippled around the table. "Had to drag him and his extra appendage to Mal cause she were the only person we knew who practised magic and weren't gonna use it as blackmail."

"Didn't you threaten to use it as blackmail eventually?" Jay asked, trying to remind himself on the event.

"Yeah, but by then he had grown into his 'appendage' and it no longer held any credibility so it was a pretty empty threat," Mal replied with a saucy wink to the frowning pirate. "Trust me on that." That made Harry smirk and the rest of the boys groan.

"Alright, never have I ever skinny dipped," Ben said, halting the laughter to change the conversation topic. Only Harry and Gil raised their hands.

"Is skinny dipping swimming naked?" Lonnie asked and Gil nodded. Her hand remained down.

"So it was just the pair of you?" Doug questioned. "Just the two of you naked?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the suggestion.

"Knock it off," Evie hushed her boyfriend. "Mal..." she said her best friends name like a prompt and it took a few select looks for the other girl to eventually just ask what she was trying to say.

"What?"

"Did you find the spell for the atmosphere bubble thing?" Evie clarified and Mal nodded with a grin.

"You wanna do it now?" The purple haired girl was already climbing out of her seat with excitement.

Ben scratched his head in confusion. "Can someone please explain what's going on."

Evie laughed musically. "Mal and I have been looking for an atmospheric bubble spell so that we could go swimming in the creek even though its September."

"You've been practising magic?" Ben asked quietly and the mood shifted.

"She dried her hair last night without sayin' a damn thing," Harry said proudly and Mal bit her lip in embarrassment.

"She never stopped practising," Doug told his friend with a blank face.

Ben nodded solemnly. "It wasn't right for me to demand you stop practising," he told the girl. "Sorry."

"S'alright," Mal replied quietly. "Shall I do the spell then? We can all cross skinny dipping off of our lists then." Mal's question relit the excitement and the two pirates whooped and hollered, following the two VKs out through the sliding doors onto the natural patio area behind the house.

"Stay near the house for a moment," Evie ordered the rest of the group as Mal shivered, standing on the bank of the creek. She shook because of the early autumn air and being so close to the water after the trauma she had gone through earlier on in the week.

"Encase us here inside this bubble, keep up warm and out of trouble," she chanted the spell the two friends had found in the library. From Mal's fingers a green bubble expanded and settled over the back garden of the house. The warmth from the log burner heated the magical atmosphere and the boys shouted and crowed once more.

"You did it!" Evie cried, running and hugging Mal.

Mal grinned and manoeuvred the two of them away from the edge of the bank. "Gonna skinny dip then?" she asked the group.

Gil and Harry ran past the group, already naked, leaping into the water with shouts. They made two large splashes and both laughed when they surfaced.

"What's it like?" Jay asked as he pulled the t shirt he had slept in over his head.

"Bit cold but it's nothin' bad," Gil told them as he treaded water. The two had kicked up sediment from the riverbed so the water was no longer clear and nothing could be seen from their shoulders down.

Jay streaked past them and dived into the water. Lonnie quickly divested herself of her pyjamas with a curse and she followed the boys. "Ohmigod!" she cried when she broke the surface. "It's so cold but it's so nice. Come on Carlos!"

"You gonna do it?" Doug asked his girlfriend and Evie nodded determinedly.

"You are too," she said sternly and Doug took his hoody off from her serious tone.

"Yes m'am," he saluted her and the pair quickly joined the others, not wanting to stay exposed on the bank for too long.

"Carlos, Jane, you've gotta come too!"

"Come on Jane!"

"Ben, get in this water!"

"Chickens," Gil cried and he imitated the bird to the laughter of the group.

"Fuck it," Carlos cried as the group in the water chanted his name. "So much for not being evil; you're peer-pressuring me," he accused before he took a running jump to leap into the deepest part of the water. He come up spluttering but grinning widely.

"See, he loves it. Come on you three!" Lonnie shouted with a splash.

"Are you going to go in - naked?" Jane quietly asked Ben and the king took a second to answer.

"I will go in my pyjamas and if I feel up to it I'll take them off once I'm in the water," he told Jane. "Do it with me?"

She hesitated and nodded with wide eyes. The two carefully lowered themselves into the river to the joys of their friends. Mal crouched at the riverbank, sitting so that her feet were dangling into the water. "Give me a few minutes," she told her concerned friends. Mal watched as the group splashed each other.

"I feel alive!" laughed Ben as he threw his wet pyjamas onto the grass. "This is amazing!"

"Well that's something you have to hold up your hand to now," Evie laughed.

"I'm getting a bit cold," Lonnie said. "Everyone close your eyes I'm going back inside."

"Oh me too," Jane added.

"Yeah, I thinks that's enough for one day, or at least thats enough naked," Doug grinned and the rest agreed.

Awkwardly, everyone clambered up out of the water one by one, scrambling naked and dripping wet to get their clothes before they ran through the house to their rooms. Jay walked confidently back through the house, taunting Gil, Jane and Lonnie as he walked back to his room.

The only person who stayed behind with Mal in the backyard was Harry. He was partially submerged in the water, up to his lips, staring up at her.

"Are you gonna join me?"

Mal looked uneasy. "I don't know. The thing at the beach really messed me up Harry," she told him.

Harry held out his hand and stood up, proving that it was quite shallow as the water lapped around his hips bones. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"I won't let go of you," he promised.

Mal weighed up the situation and slowly pulled of her slippers off of her feet. She had been leaning back so that her toes were nowhere near the waters edge. Harry waded through the rushing water to the bank and he stood right below Mal with his hands caging her legs.

"You promise," she asked, her fingers caught in the waistband of her silk bottoms.

"I will never hurt you Mal," he said seriously. Mal nodded and shuffled out of her pants, opting to leave her t-shirt on.

Carefully, Harry placed his hands on Mal's hips and helped her slide into the river. She gripped his shoulders as some of the soil underneath her slipped and moved.

Mal squeaked and gasped at the coolness the river against her skin as her body slid down Harry's. He looked her in the eyes, watching and waiting for any signs of discomfort. Mal seemed to cling to the pirate as he walked backwards, taking them deeper into the centre of the albeit small river.

"Stop wrigglin'" he ordered sternly and Mal's joyous giggles washed over him. Her legs were wrapped around his naked waist and she had her head buried in his neck as she laughed.

"How are you planning on facing any of our friends if you emerge naked from the river with a boner?" Mal said into his ear, focusing on the way Harry was subconsciously running her thumb over her hipbones as he held her to him. The small action reminded her that she was safe with Harry, regardless of the situation.

"I don't care no more. Ya love me," he replied, kissing her lips.

"And you love me," Mal replied with a beaming smile.

"We're in love," Harry shouted suddenly, crowing after the cry. Mal laughed as whoops echoed throughout the house to the confession.

"Come on the lover boy, let's get out before we get hypothermia or something," Mal sighed happily. Regardless of what they did for the rest of the day, she already knew this was a day she would never forget.


	16. Chapter 16

The rest of the weekend was spent eating and laughing as the group talked and lounged around. They split their afternoon between baking cookies, reading and watching the old movies that were laying around the cabin. They chopped wood for the fire and played childish games as they collectively tried to cook dinner.

At around four o'clock on the Sunday, the ten were packed into the kitchen with someones phone playing upbeat music. Mal and Evie were singing along to the song from either side of the kitchen, both using wooden spoons as microphones. Jay was helping Carlos and Jane, the two honorary cooks, to prep the ingredients for homemade pizza. A car would arrive around eight pm to take them back to the school.

"How's the dough coming along?" Jane asked Ben, Gil and Lonnie who were gathered around a single, large mixing bowl on the siding table, each covered in a fine layer of flour.

"Dough-n't ask," Gil ginned, holding up a hand that was covered in the pizza dough they were making. Several people groaned at the bad pun.

"It's ready if you lot are," Ben smiled and they brought the lump of dough onto the island so that Mal and Evie could roll it out and proportion it.

"Doug, ya found it yet?" Harry's voice carried through the kitchen, muffled by the fact he was on the floor above and the music.

Doug pulled his head out from the sideboard he was rooting through. "No luck. How about you?"

The two boys were looking for the key that would unlock the cellar so that they could enjoy a few bottles of wine that Doug knew were kept there. They had been searching the house for nearly half an hour but neither were willing to give up.

"Check the floorboards," Jane called and a few heads turned in her direction. "What? That's where my mom keeps things safe and hidden at home."

"You heard the woman," Gil called, snapping out of the daze he was in. "Find that key and get her a drink!"

"Oh no, that's not necessary," Jane babbled, nearly slicing her finger off as she chopped tomatoes. Luckily Jay plucked the sharp knife out of her hands before any harm could happen.

"You don't have to," he told her gently, setting the knife down.

Lonnie and Ben were scrubbing their hands in the sink and Gil had taken a seat on one of the stools around the island to watch the two VKs roll the pizza bases. He held his sticky hands up in front of him as he patiently waited.

"Why don't you use your magic?" he quietly asked Mal and the two girls shared a mischievous look.

"I will when we serve but its keeping them busy and out of the kitchen so why ruin the fun," Evie smirked and Gil nodded along. The eight of them were bumping elbows so by adding the physically imposing pirate and the bumbling Doug, the place would be chaotic.

"Gotcha," he winked and went to wash his hands.

"There," Mal said triumphantly. "Pizza bases are ready!" A cheer went around.

"So are the toppings and the sauce so we can make them now," Carlos told the group. "Hook, Doug!"

The ten gathered around the island, shoulder to shoulder as they handed out the pizza bases and the bowls with the sauce.

"Cheese," someone asked and the bowl went from hand to hand.

"Ham." The same process happened and it looked hectic but the friends never faltered in their rhythm. They had created their pizzas within a matter of minutes and Jay placed them in the warm oven.

"So, the key?" Lonnie questioned the two who had practically ripped the house apart to find it.

Both were scowling and the group took it that they hadn't found it.

"I'll open it," Mal sighed playfully, taking pity on the two. She kissed Harry's bicep as she passed him and his frown faltered for a moment.

"I'll help you bring some bottles up," Evie said and she followed Mal down to the cellar.

Mal said a simple unlocking spell and the two descended the stairs into the cool cellar, going straight to the wine rack.

"Doug asked me something," Evie began hesitantly as the pair gathered several bottles of wine to drink over the course of their last evening.

Mal turned to Evie. "What was it?"

Evie broke into a ear-to-ear grin. "He asked me last night if I would marry him," she squealed.

"What!?" Mal exclaimed. "He asked you to marry him!" she echoed.

Evie nodded enthusiastically. "Well, he said would I marry him one day, and I said that wasn't the romantic proposal I had been envisioning and he said to think of it as a pre-question question," Evie explained.

"So he's asked but not technically asked you," Mal clarified. "Oh E," she grinned, throwing her empty arm around her best friends shoulders.

"Yeah, he said he was planning something but he just wanted to make sure," Evie told Mal and the two made their way to the stairs.

"I'm so happy for you," Mal smiled. She could think of no others who deserved happiness like Evie and Doug did. "Wonder when he'll drop the question for real."

"So am I! And I'm happy for you, we all heard Harry say you were really in love the other day," Evie chuckled and Mal smiled fondly. The weekend retreat seemed to have lit flames for the three couples and they were stronger than ever.

Mal and Harry relationship had always been a passion filled romance but now they were in perfect sync with each other, co dependent to the absolute limit. Jay and Lonnie were also becoming more publicly affectionate and the pair gelled well. Evie and Doug were practically joined at the hip now.

"Its just that I'm worried," Evie halted Mal on the bottom step, chewing her lip.

"About what? You and Doug-"

Evie shook her head. "No, not us, I meant about the rest of them. Carlos, Gil, Jane, those three seem to revolve around each other and I'm sure there something there," she whispered despite the fact they had shut the cellar door behind them.

"I was beginning to see that too," Mal confessed. "I don't think Jane realises she doesn't actually have to chose." Gil and Carlos were obviously smitten with the Auradon girl and it didn't take a genius to realise that there was chemistry between the two boys as well.

"It's lovely that they've found romance with each other but its Ben I'm worried about," Evie agreed about the sweetness of the triad who had yet to actually evolve.

Mal's shoulders dropped at the mention of the King's name. She knew he must be feeling uncomfortable or left out surrounded by some much romance or tension. It had after all been less than a month since Harry had stormed onto the scene.

"I should talk to him," Mal sighed deeply. "I should have talked to him a week ago."

Evie's expression was sympathetic. "I can talk to him first, test the waters you know," she offered but Mal shook her head.

"Its the decent thing to do. He deserves a proper explanation and to know he is still as much apart of this friendship group as anybody else." The king had been isolating himself during the free hours of the day.

The two girls nodded in silent agreement and made their way back up the cellar stairs to the main kitchen. When they emerged into the warm space with bottles in their arms, a cheer went around and Gil rushed forward to take a bottle. Someone had taken the pizzas out of the oven and they were cooling on the island, already cut and on serving plates, waiting for the two girls.

Harry grabbed his hook from the side table he had left it upon and he used the sharp point to uncork the bottle. Jane passed around nine vessels to drink from, all mismatched as the cottage only had three wine glasses which Lonnie, Ben and Evie took.

Mal and Gil both had tea cups, Jane was clutching a small glass vase, Harry, Carlos and Jay had mugs and Doug had a small soup bowl. They passed around the bottle and filled up their make-shirt cups and glasses to make a toast.

"To this weekend, the friendship we share and the love we treasure," Jay toasted with a grin down at Lonnie who was leaning against his side.

The ten repeated the toast and took several sips. It was Jane's first sip of alcohol and she timidly drank with a wrinkled nose.

"Like it?" Carlos asked from her left.

Jane smacked her lips and paused. "Its sweet," she exclaimed in surprise.

Gil laughed at her other side and pressed a delicate kiss to her temple. "Well we wouldn't drink it if it were horrible," he smiled.

"Says you, I've watched ya drink from a grubby boot," Harry said and laughter echoed around the island. Mal handed Harry two more bottles to uncork and she passed them around to refill the glasses.

"One time man," Gil muttered as Carlos and Jane roared with laughter.

"Come on, lets eat," Doug said, reaching for a slice. The friends followed his lead and they joked as they ate the pizza and finished the two bottles. When the last slice had been consumed, they moved into the living room.

Jay and Lonnie were dancing along to the record Ben had put on the stereo in the corner. The soft music suited the atmosphere and soon Gil was tugging Carlos into a space and dancing along with him. Ben and Doug were talking on one of the sofas and then left through the patio doors so Evie joined Mal who was sat with Harry, and a gobsmacked Jane.

"Enjoying yourself?" Evie asked the girl. "Whats wrong?"

Jane had drank several small glasses of wine and she was more relaxed than she had ever been within their presence. She was openly staring at the two boys dancing together.

"Am I missing something again?" she asked the three to her side.

Harry was about to say something but Mal wriggled so that she was sat upon his lap, distracting him. "Don't be mean," she warned under her breath and Harry was happy enough to play along, kissing along Mal's shoulder instead. Ben and Doug slipped back into the living room unnoticed.

Evie smiled at the girl. She was usually the last to realise or know something and didn't pick up subtle hints. Evie thought that Jane probably didn't realise she had two boys flirting with her.

"What do you mean?" Evie asked kindly over the music, taking a sip of her drink to stop the smirk.

"Carlos and Gil, are they..." Jane trailed off, looking back to the two boys who had their hands on each others hips and their heads awfully close. "I thought they were..."

"Were what Jane?" Mal asked, wanting to hear exactly what the Auradon girl had been thinking.

Jane blushed and dropped her eyes. "I thought they liked me," she said sadly and the three VKs on the sofa giggled.

"Oh Janie, they do like you," Evie told her.

"But they're dancing awfully close," Jane argued.

"They like you and each other and you like them right," Harry spoke up and Jane nodded with a slightly frightened expression at Harry's blunt tone. "Well go and dance with em," he ordered the girl and she jumped from the sofa obediently.

"Wait Jane, here," Evie held out the rest of her wine and Jane took it hesitantly. "Liquid courage," she smiled and Jane finished the drink before making her way shyly to the two boys. They broke away from each other when she approached.

"I like both of you," Jane said quickly, feeling both embarrassed and exhilarated. The two boys shared an incredulous look.

"We like you too Jane," Carlos said slowly, wondering what had prompted the braveness in the girl.

"And you like each other right," Jane asked, hoping that her and the others hadn't misread the signals. Gil scratched his head and glanced at Carlos who was blushing as much as Jane.

"Uh, yeah, I do," Gil told them and Carlos nodded a dumbstruck look on his face.

"Wanna dance," Jane said at the speed of light. She didn't give them time to answer as she had their hands in hers and she was swaying along to the music.

From the sofa Evie squealed and Mal looked happy. "I can't believe she did it!"

"I thought Gil was gonna have to kiss her as he was tossing off Carlos or something to make sure that she got the message," Harry said and Mal slapped his arm as the crassness of his suggestion.

"Just give them time, it won't be overnight," she said.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt but do you wanna dance Eve," Doug was stood with one hand behind his back and the other outstretched to his girlfriend.

"Always," she replied. "Can we dance outside though, theres not much room in here," she asked, nodding towards the kissing Lonnie and Jay and the triad who were twisting and turning almost violently to the slow song.

"They look ridiculous, sure," Doug grinned at the three, leading Evie to the patio doors with a smile.

"Talk to him now Mal," Evie said over her shoulder and Mal sighed.

"You gonna be okay for a moment, I need to talk to Ben," she asked Harry, her fingers absentmindedly playing with the long hair at the nape of his neck.

"I'll hold my own," he grinned, trapping his chin in his fingers. His eyes flickered to where the King was sat and he deeply kissed the girl on his lap until they were breathless.

"You're evil," Mal whispered onto his smirking lips.

"So are you," he answered surging his hips upwards so that Mal could feel the arousal in his trousers. "Go, I know its important to ya."

Mal thanked the pirate with a chaste kiss and she climbed off him to approach Ben. "Can we talk outside for a moment," she asked and the King nodded with a heavy head.

They walked silently out of the house and Ben lead them down to the bank of the river, still benefiting from the atmosphere spell that had yet to wear off. Ben sat down and Mal followed his lead, both annoyed by the awkward tension that seemed to have settled over them.

"I'm sorry," both said simultaneously and they chuckled nervously.

"Go on, I know you've wanted to talk to me for some time," Ben said, folding his arms over his bent knees and looking out over the river.

Mal nodded and summoned up all of her courage. "I wanna tell you about Harry and I-," she began and Ben stiffened. "Please."

"Everyone knows everyone on the Isle but we didn't really meet until we were fourteen. Both of us had made a deal with this guy but we didn't realise. Anyway, the guy lot the bet and both of us went to collect the winnings at the same time. Should have seen his face when he realised he had to share the guys money with me but we clicked and began working together.

"I think I had just turned fifteen when we first kissed. Harry's a few months older than me but it was my first kiss. Things escalated and we eventually did more but we didn't tell anyone. On the Isle there was this warehouse that we used and we basically lived in there. People began rumours and we didn't do anything to stop them."

"What kind of rumours," Ben asked quietly, still not looking at Mal.

"That we were in love or magically bonded and we used them to our advantage when it was called for but we would deny anything when asked out right. I used to dream about leaving the Isle on his ship and we would sail around the world and start a new life where no one knew us. Stupid right," Mal scoffed.

"No, of course not," Ben assured her with kind eyes. "What happened?"

"You did," Mal said. "Or at least when the Auradon prep letter arrived, thats when things changed. We decided that it would be safer to no longer be seen together in public so that my mother wouldn't use Harry as a bargaining tool to make sure that I would get the wand. We spent a final night together in that warehouse and we promised each other we would remain together and find a way to leave Auradon and the Isle."

"But then I ruined it again," Ben said with a frown. "I was advised to not let any of you have any contact with the Isle so you wouldn't have been able to explain anything to him, and modern technology doesn't work on the Isle," he concluded.

"He found out through gossip and the television," Mal told Ben with a sad expression. If she could change one thing in her life it would have been that.

"Did you love each other before you left?" Ben questioned and Mal sighed deeply.

"We told each other we did and I believe we did love and care for each other but we certainly weren't in love, not like now. I told him I had been lying a few days after and he told me the same thing. We were heartbroken."

"He must hate me," Ben said.

"He hated himself most of all. In the few months between me leaving and us becoming a couple, Harry became something of a hired hitman. He did some terrible things during that time," said Mal and Ben turned to her. "He hated me too because he couldn't make himself forget me."

"He killed people?"

"I have too Ben, we didn't come to be known as heartless and ruthless because we stole candy. Murder is uncommon but it does happen on the Isle," she told him gently and he flinched. "Everyone of your villainous friends has committed some sort of crime."

"You've killed someone?" he focused on the more taboo topic.

Mal took a shaky breath. "I helped my mother poison somebody but it was the first and last time," she promised, shivering at the terrible memory.

"I'm sorry," was all Ben said.

"No, I am," she groaned frustratedly. "I told you I loved you and we were practically engaged Ben but as soon as Harry arrived I crumbled. When I met him that lunchtime, we did things that I'm pretty sure are illegal over here for unmarried couples, especially out in public," Mal's cheeks were tinged red at the thought of Harry's head between her thighs in the woods.

"Public? Where did you do ... it?" Ben questioned with wide eyes.

"In the forests around the school but we didn't have sex," she reassured him, recognising the panic in his tone.

"That doesn't help Mal. I assume you have now," he told her. "Wait, you had before hadn't you, back on the Isle."

"Yeah, he's the only person I've ever been with, but we have over the weekend," she decided to tell him the whole truth. "So have Evie, Doug, Lonnie and Jay if that makes it easier to handle."

Ben looked as though his head was about to explode and he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. "Thanks Mal, that really helps," he said through gritted teeth sarcastically.

"Right, probably didn't need to know that," she said through the silence. "Are you okay with this all though?"

He huffed and looked at her. "Honestly, I've always had a nagging feeling that we weren't right for each other, even before cotillion. I'm annoyed that you let this go on for so long when it obviously hurt both of us. You should have told me where to stick it when I banned you from contacting the Isle. I'm also annoyed you saw him whilst we were still technically together and that he's a prick," Ben's eyes widened as he swore accidentally. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Its alright, he can be," Mal reassured the King. "But are you okay?"

"I guess I'm just upset because everyone is coupling up and I am alone," he huffed and Mal wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulders as a squeal carried through the clearing. Both stood up and looked to see Evie jumping onto of Doug. The rest of the friends had made their way outside to the commotion and were looking at the couple who had fallen to the floor.

"When did he set up candles?" Jane asked aloud and everyone took time to look at the forest floor.

Doug and Evie were in a circular enclosure of small lit candles, and with the setting sun, the pair seemed encased in a hazy atmosphere as they kissed.

"What happened?" Carlos asked and Mal gasped with wide eyes.

"Did you help him set the candles up?" Mal asked the King, remembering when the two had slipped away earlier in the evening, and Ben nodded with a shy smile. "Oh my fucking god," Mal swore, alerting the couple to their friends.

"I'm engaged! We're gonna get married! Holy shit we're engaged!" Evie cried, her smile so wide she was barely audible as she told her friends.

"Engaged?!" Jay said in disbelief as the girls surged forward to hug the couple, all on their knees surrounding them. Gil and Carlos followed, joining the mass of bodies in the group hug on the floor.

"They're getting married," Jay muttered as Evie showed the girls her delicate ring. "What?"

Harry laughed and clapped the boy on the back. "Was gonna happen sooner or later mate."

The friends on the floor got up and hugged the couple again as they were pulled to their feet. Evie was crying and Doug seemed to be on the verge of tears as they were handed from one person to another.

Jay gripped both tightly in a bear hug, tears in his eyes to Lonnie's disbelief.

"Why are you crying?" she asked him after the happy couple had been passed to Gil and Carlos. Jay sniffled.

"I'm just so happy for her, for them," he said into Lonnie's hair as he buried his face into it.

Ben and Jane hugged Evie and Doug with congratulatory words and Doug quietly thanked Ben for setting up the romantic candles like he had envisioned.

"Evie," Mal sobbed, wrapping her best friend into a tight embrace as Harry did the same to Doug to her right.

"Will you be my maid of honour?" Evie asked and the two girls smiled and laughed.

"Can I see it again?" Mal asked and Evie placed her left hand in Mal's so that she could see the ring better.

It was a small, white gold band with one modest diamond in the centre. It oozed simplicity but also elegance and it looked like a family heirloom rather than a store bought ring.

"It's beautiful Eve," Mal told her and Evie nodded.

"I know. I can't believe we were talking about it in the cellar and he asked today. I thought it would be months or years before he asked," Evie said and the group laughed and Doug wrapped an arm around her.

"Couples usually marry at around nineteen here on Auradon," Lonnie told the pair and Jay's eyes went wide. He was only a month away from being eighteen and had not even thought about that stage of his life.

"Well, regardless, I think it's wonderful," Jane said. "We should finish the last of the wine before the car comes and we can have another toast," she squeaked in excitement, leading the friends back into the house.

"One sip of alcohol and now she's ruined forever," Gil commented.

"Who would have thought," Carlos snickered as the two blew out all of the candles and followed their friends.

Back in the house, Ben helped pass out the glasses and mugs again as Harry used his hook to uncork another two bottles. Mal caught Ben's eye when he handed her the tea cup she had been drinking from previously.

"I'll be alright," was all he said and he moved on to give the vase to Jane. Mal nodded and chose to believe him. When Harry stood by her side she linked their fingers, squeezing his hand.

Once their glasses were full Harry raised his high. "To love and friendship , yada yada yada, and those two; Evie and Doug," he said.

"Evie and Doug," the rest echoed and they raised their glasses before drinking from them.

"The car will be here in an hour and a half so pack your stuff and then we can celebrate," Jane ordered, making everyone retreat to their rooms with more congratulations to the happy couple.

Evie and Doug had already sorted their stuff so they remained in the living room, encircled in each others arms as they swayed to the soft song playing through the speakers. Every so often they would kiss but for the most part they simply held each other.

"I love you," Evie whispered into his cheek.

"I love you too," Doug said, feeling lighter than air as he danced with his girl.


	17. Chapter 17

A sleek black limousine pulled up outside the cottage at the pre agreed time to find the ten friends and their luggage waiting outside at the front of the property.

Jane was sandwiched between Gil and Carlos as they danced around the front door. To their left, Evie and Doug were wrapped in each others embrace and when the driver rolled to a stop he realised that the rest were throwing around a ball, almost making him run Harry down as he dived for the object.

The pirate collided with the parked car's front bumper but he was triumphantly gripping the ball in his hand and he waved it around as Jay swore, making the driver cringed as he climbed out of the cab.

"Sorry to interrupt but I am here to take you back," the chauffeur cleared his throat as he addressed Ben who had his hands in the hand ready for the ball Lonnie was throwing to him.

"Right, could you put the luggage away and we'll be on our way," Ben was tugging his case towards the trunk of the car which popped open at the push of a button.

"Yes sir," the chauffeur murmured and he went to collect Lonnie's weekend bag without further comment.

" I never wanna leave," Jane mumbled as she passed her bag to Ben. "This weekend has been magical," she sighed, leaning against the car and looking forlornly at the house.

"I know what you mean," Lonnie smirked but her tone was mischievous as she winked at Jay, making Jane groan as Gil and Carlos out their cases in the trunk and joined at against the car.

"Can we come back?" Evie asked Doug as he double checked that he had locked the front door. He pocketed the key and wrap an arm around Evie's shoulders.

"Any time you want," he promised, kissing her shoulder as they made their way to car.

"Ya just may wanna burn our bed," Harry snickered as he tossed the ball to Jay with a wicked grin.

"And the dresser," Mal piped up making Doug wrinkle his nose and a laugh to go around the group. The only one who didn't participate was Ben as he slammed the trunk shut in anger.

Suddenly he surged forward and had either side of Harry's t-shirt in his fists and he shook the pirate quite violently. Harry was taller and more physically intimidating but the shock of Ben grabbing him gave the King the advantage.

Ben pushed the pirate down and roared in his face but Harry had slipped back into the mask he would wear on the Isle and he swung his leg around so that Ben's were knocked out from underneath him. Fighting was second nature to the pirate but Ben was unskilled. The King fell to the floor in a heap and the friends gasped. Gil held Jay back as Evie and Doug took Mal into their arms.

"They need to sort this out," Evie whispered into Mal's ear sadly.

The friends and the shocked chauffeur watched as Harry pounced on top of the king. He refrained from hitting him but Ben's fist collided clumsily with Harry's temple and he began to fight back, albeit reluctantly. The last thing anyone wanted was for Harry to sent back to the Isle for fighting a royal.

Ben had manoeuvred so that he had a knee on Harry's chest as he hit him with unskilled fists. The pirate glanced towards Mal and her frightened expression made him drop his hands from the King's throat. His fists fell to the ground beside him but Ben was still hitting him.

"How dare you talk about her like that!"

"Ben!" Jane cried but she didn't approach them.

"She is worth ten of you! She's a damn lady of the court and you talk about her so crudely!"

Harry had a bloodied lip and was simply taking the beating as he kept direct eye contact with Mal, the only thing not making him pummel the king.

"You don't deserve her! You worthless pirate scum!" Ben was shouting as he hit the prone Harry. Spit was flying and he pulled Harry up by the collar of his shirt. "Fight back!" he shouted as he dropped Harry who simply fell back onto the soil.

"Ben, Ben!" Jane was shrieking, realising that Harry was not retaliating. Slowly, Ben stopped hitting and he scrambled back from the pirate as Mal rushed to his side with a dirty look in the King's direction.

"Okay, everyone get in the limo and let them talk this out," Lonnie said diplomatically and she and Evie herded everyone into the back of the car, leaving the trio.

Ben was heaving, sucking in huge breaths as he shook out his bruising hands. Mal held out a hand for Harry and pulled the pirate into a sitting position. Harry simply spat out a small mouthful of blood and he wiped at his bleeding brow. Ben's signet ring had cut open his temple from the initial hit.

"I- I," Ben faultered, astounded at both the relative calm state Harry seemed to be in and his own rash actions. "Sorry."

Mal sighed and she knelt down to root around her weekend bag. She wordlessly handed Harry one of her t-shirts and he began to dab at the wound with the material.

"You told me you earlier you were okay," Mal sounded exhausted and she just sat down near Harry with a frustrated sigh.

Ben shifted on his feet and then felt awkward and uncomfortable standing so he sat down opposite the couple. He opened and closed his mouth several times, unsure of how to express his inner thoughts.

"You shouldn't be spoken about like that. He makes you sound like some whore from the Island when he talks about being intimate with you," Ben avoided their eyes as he began.

"I am a whore from the Isle and if anyone would know it would be Harry, Ben," Mal said, ignoring the way both boys cringed at the derogatory term. "I am not the person I was pretending to be all those months ago Ben. This crass and unladylike person is who I am. I am a Isle girl. I'm not Jane or Audrey. I enjoy drinking and breaking rules and sex. I can't begin to tell you how much I hate being coddled."

Ben looked up. "I'm sorry. I guess I never really put myself in your shoes did I?" Mal shook her head as Harry scoffed. "On the Isle when Evie was teaching me how to look like I belonged I felt so out of place. Even after Cotillion I didn't understand did I. I just wanted to protect you."

"She's not a pure little princess, she don't need protectin'," Harry's voice was gruff and Ben shook his head.

"I know that now. I can't believe I've been so dumb," Ben sounded astounded as he came to the conclusion. "Oh my, have I really messed this up?"

Mal's expression softened and she looked at Harry. "Just talk to us, don't go throwing shit punches around," Mal said.

"Were they that bad?" Ben cringed.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I would'av killed ya."

"You're going to have to teach me how to throw a proper punch then," Ben chuckled and then his eyes went wide as he registered what he had said.

Harry smirked and got to his feet, holding a hand out for the King. "You'll be knocking people out in no time," he smirked.

"What happened?" Evie whispered to Mal from the sunroof. She was staring at the two boys clapping each other on the back.

Mal shrugged. "No clue," she said and she went to put her bag in the trunk.

Harry pulled Ben into a firm hug and he whispered in the King's ear "she's my girl so if you try and fuck around again I'm going to hook you," he threatened with a smile and he left to help Mal leaving the King nodding solemnly.

"Is the domestic over? Can we go now?" Gil had stood up through the sun roof next to Evie, squishing the other VK.

Mal and Harry got into the limo, already talking quietly together, and Ben scrambled into the car behind them, shaking off Jane's worried questions. Within the car everyone was sat either with their partner or simply lounging on the long seats.

"Thirty minutes until we arrive back at the schools Sirs and Madames," the chauffeur said before he closed the partition and allowed the friends to work though the semi-awkward tension that had settled after the fight.

9:07 pm

When the car pulled up in front of the statue, Fairy Godmother was there to greet and talk to them. Jane hugged her mother tightly and excused herself so that she could have a bath before lights out.

Lonnie, Carlos and Jay also said a quick hello to the headmistress but they made their way to the gym to get in some sword practice before the building was locked for the night.

"Hello Gil, how was your weekend?" Fairy Godmother asked the pirate when he clambered out of the limo. He stretched his long limbs and rolled his shoulders until they cracked which made the Fairy wince.

"It was good," he said as he rolled his neck, oblivious to the disgusted look on the woman's face.

"Oh really, good," she replied but it was through a frown at the sounds. "Did Jane enjoy it?"

Gil's smile was wide and dazzling. "Yeah. I really think she came out of her shell this weekend, you know, with me and the other guys."

Fairy Godmother's eyes were wide at the statement and she hurriedly said goodbyes to the pirate as he walked to his dorm with his luggage. Straight after Gil was the King and Fairy Godmother wrapped an arm around the young royal, steering him in the direction of his office as she rattled off a list of things that had happened over the course of his absence.

Harry and Mal said thanks to the chauffeur as they followed Evie and Doug out of the car and into the main school building. Together, the four climbed the stairs to the dormitory wings and the mutually agreed to settle in the girls dorm until lights out.

They met a few people on the way to the girls floor and whispers followed and preceded them. Outside the girls dorm, Dizzy and her roommate were sat in the corridor, playing a clapping game as they obviously waited for the older VKs.

"Dizzy?" Evie questioned, handing Doug her keys to open the room. She knelt down to the younger girl's level and she couldn't keep the concern out of her voice. "Whats wrong? Why are you waiting outside our door?"

"Evie!" Dizzy gasped, grabbing the girl's left hand and shrieking. "It's true then!"

"What's true Dizz?" Mal asked with a confused smile as the two girls and Evie stood up.

"You're getting married! I thought it may have been Mal and Harry but they've only just gotten back together," Dizzy's voice was loud and several girls opened their doors to openly stare the two VKs and their partners. Uncharacteristically, Harry looked like a deer in headlight as he was pointed and looked at. He was gripping onto Mal's hand for dear life.

"Fuck sake Dizzy, nobody officially knows about Harry and I," Mal hissed to the younger girl and Dizzy shrank back, noticing how many people were eavesdropping.

"I'm sorry, I just heard a rumour that someone had proposed this weekend at the cottage and I wanted to ask you all in person," Dizzy let go of Evie's hand as somebody came stomping down the hallway.

"No boys on the corridor after lights out," Audrey sneered to the four, her hair in rollers on top of her head. Her appearance had several other girls coming out of their rooms to watch the confrontation unfold.

"It's only twenty past nine," another student answered to the defence of the quartet. Audrey's eyes narrowed.

"Fine, but no boys in dorm rooms," Audrey huffed and she crossed her arms.

"That's not a rule and it never has been," Mal scoffed, mimicking Audrey's pose, but unlike the Princess who looked like a child in a strop, Mal looked powerful and threatening.

"Well..." Audrey paused as she tried to find another thing to say. "No shouting at younger students."

"Its my fault, I didn't realise nobody knew thats all," Dizzy spoke up, turning to the princess with a toothy smile.

Audrey's facial expression changed from annoyance to suspicion. "Knew about what?"

"About the engagement," Annabelle, Dizzy's roommate said with defiance in her voice, thinking she was getting a one up over the princess.

Mal swore as Evie sighed. Doug simply looked exhausted and Harry automatically put a warning hand on Mal's shoulder. Dizzy tugged on her roommates elbow with wide, frightened eyes and the two young girls pressed themselves against the wall as Audrey rounded on the two couples.

"Engaged? Who? Those four," Audrey laughed at the girls and then smirked to the posse of lower-class princesses she always had around her like an entourage.

"It's true!" a voice came down the corridor.

"Where's the rings then?" Audrey asked, putting her hand to her eyes as if shielding them from the sun. "Its certainly not worth it if they didn't give you rings or was that not how it worked on the Isle?"

Mal growled and Evie twisted the modest band around her finger. She didn't know whether to flaunt her new relationship milestone or to hide it.

"Show her," begged Dizzy and the blue-haired girl complied. Evie put up her middle finger on her left hand, making sure the engagement ring was visible as she flipped the princess off.

"Happy now?" she spat. "Unlike you Audrey, I don't need a expensive things to know somebody loves me. You will marry some rich bloke her daddy has picked because you will never amount to anything but I am happy with a small ring because I know my fiancé truly loves me and isn't with me because I am a shallow airhead with rich parents."

Laughs and catcalls echoed down the corridor as the watching girls applauded Evie's insults. Audrey looked shell-shocked and she glanced around at the princesses who usually trailed after her like lost puppies. They were all sniggering behind their hands.

"Well, I'm sure the press who like to know what a whore the King's girlfriend is, especially if she's being intimate and engaged to that dirty pirate behind King Ben's back!"

Before anyone could reach her, Audrey had pushed her way back through the crowd and disappeared into her own room. Mal and Harry shared a worried look. Evie was stunned into silence and the crowded hallway was deathly quiet.

Nobody had really paid Harry and Mal that much attention so they had been more open with public displays of affection, however the actions were still small. At that point in time, Harry had a hand on Mal's shoulder and the other was holding her hand.

"She won't call them will she, the press I mean?" Mal asked Doug, panic evident in her voice.

The half-dwarf blinked several times, as if still processing the words. "We need Ben right now!"

9:28 pm

"BEN!"

Fairy Godmother looked at the King's office door with alarmed eyes. "Who is that at this time of night? I mean, its a Sunday for Goodness sake."

Ben warily got up from behind his desk with a shrug. "No idea," he told her and he opened the door, letting several people fall into his office.

"You need to get Audrey to back off!"

"She's going to expose Mal and Harry!"

"She found out about the engagement."

"Audrey's calling the press."

Gil, Carlos, Jay, Doug, Lonnie, Evie, Harry and Mal came pouring into the small office, all speaking over one another. Ben closed his door and shook his head, trying to process all of the information.

"Engagement?" Fairy Godmother echoed, looking from one face to another. "Whose engagement?" she demanded and Ben retook his seat behind his desk.

Evie tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Mine and Doug's ma'am."

Fairy Godmother looked both flabbergasted and as though she was about to burst into tears. "Engaged? But you're barely eighteen," she protested feebly, holding a hand out to see Evie's modest ring.

"Technically, I'm eighteen next month," Doug said but Godmother was transfixed as she looked at the small stones on the band.

"It's a lovely ring, must have cost an arm and a leg," she sighed.

"It's an heirloom actually. Something that apparently was Evie's mother's so it rightly belongs to her," Doug told the room.

Evie gasped and inspected the ring closely. "It does!"

"Just a family story but believe in it however you like," he replied.

"But do you think this is wise. You're not even out of school yet," Godmother asked.

"If I may, I have never known two people more suited to each other than Doug and Evie. They deserve all the happiness they can get and may I remind you Godmother that most are married by twenty-one here in Auradon," Ben said, causing all topic of Doug and Evie to drop.

"If they have your blessing then," Godmother said. "Congratulations. I am trulyhappy for the pair of you."

"I'm sorry but can we get back to the matter at hand," said Ben. "What's going on? What's with all of the commotion?"

Again, the eight friends began to talk over each other at varying speeds and volumes until Ben put one hand up. "Mal, what's going on?"

"Audrey cornered Harry, Evie, Doug and I when we were going back to our dorm. Dizzy, the little girl who was transferred with the boys, asked Evie about her engagement," Mal explained.

"Somehow a rumour had already been circulating around the school so she wanted to double check with the people themselves," Doug added.

"That prissy princess came stormin' up outta nowhere and demanded that we do this an' that," Harry interrupted and Mal gripped his hand to stop him from saying something damaging in front of the headmistress.

"And Dizzy made me show Audrey my ring and now Audrey thinks that not only did Doug and I get engaged but that Mal and Harry are engaging in a more," she glanced at Godmother, "meaningful relationship."

"Okay?" Ben asked, still unsure why everyone seemed so upset.

"Everyone in Auradon still thinks you're with Mal you idiot!" Gil cried.

"She's calling the press right now apparently," Jay added, swatting Gil for his outburst.

"Oh Gods above," Godmother said. "They'll be here before the morning I assure you."

"Is there any way to stop that?" Ben asked the fairy seriously. "Lumière, Cogsworth!"

As Fairy Godmother brainstormed the possible ways of closing the school to the press, the two butlers entered the office. "Sir," Cogsworth asked expectantly.

"I need one of you to call the Auradon news crew and have them and Felicity Wainwright here before eleven tonight."

Mal chewed on her lips and she allowed Harry to wrap his arms around her. "What are ya goin' to do?" the pirate asked.

"I'm going to tell the public before the press do."

10:43 pm

Gil sat on the small sofa in Ben's office with Carlos's head on one shoulder and Lonnie leaning on his other side. He had watched Harry storm out of the office nearly half an hour ago and Mal was wearing a hole in the carpet as she paced.

Evie and Doug were sat at the King's desk, talking in hushed tones to Fairy Godmother. Jay, on the other hand, was leaning against the window, staring out into the dark night.

"They're here," he said suddenly, breaking the nervous atmosphere in the office. Evie was up and out of her seat in seconds, pulling on Mal's arm and out of the door.

"Whats the plan then?" Gil asked the room.

"I'm going to grant an exclusive interview to Felicity Wainwright from Auradon News and I will explain that Mal is still a member of the court, however, she is no longer my girlfriend and that she has found her true love," Ben explained as he swept into the room in a crisp blue suit with his crown secured under one arm.

"True love?" Jay echoed.

"Yes, her true love," was all Ben said as a knock came from the office door. Lumière opened the door from the outside and let Harry back into the room. The pirate looked agitated and was holding a bottle and had his hook on his hand.

"Sir, the film crew are setting up in one of the classrooms in the east wing," the manservant informed the King before he left.

"Where's she gone?" Harry whispered to Gil and the pirate shrugged.

"Evie dragged her somewhere I think."

After ten or so minutes or terse waiting around, Carlos had fallen asleep and the film crew were calling for Ben. The King set his crown upon his head and left the office, leaving his friends to sit and wait.

Down in the main hallway of the school, Evie had slowed to a stop and tugged Mal into the first empty room she could see. The two girls were in the girls' toilets.

"You and Harry need to do something, to stop the rumours and to prove your relationship to Auradon," Evie told Mal.

"What are you talking about? I thought Ben was just going to talk about the kingdom for a bit and then mention that he was single. Anyway, where even is Harry? He left earlier."

Evie shook her head. "Godmother, Doug and I just wrote his notes for the questions. He's going to talk about you because the reporter will obviously bring you up. He's going to talk about how happy you are with your one true love and then when the film crew begin to doubt it, Ben is going to lead them to you."

"Lead them?" Mal repeated. "To me doing what?"

"Just leave it to me," was all Evie said cryptically. "I know where Harry goes to be alone."

"And that is why the price of wool for sale has increased, because our coal is richer in minerals than many other kingdoms," Ben finished answering the standard question about his rule.

Felicity Wainwright smiled and pulled the microphone back. "And King Ben, onto more saucy questions, how is your girlfriend, the lady of both the court and the Isle, Mal?" she asked, holding the microphone out once again and Ben swallowed nervously.

He looked down at the notes Fairy Godmother had pushed into his hand. "Actually Felicity, that is one of the reasons I allowed the interview tonight. I wanted to tell and show you and the kingdom something very important to me."

"Oh, how exciting, an exclusive answer is coming your way folks," Felicity said the the camera before allowing Ben to continue.

He took a deep, steady breath. "Mal remains a lady of the Auradon court, however, she is no longer my girlfriend as she has been reunited with her one true love."

Felicity gasped dramatically. "Her one true love? Surely that is you though King Ben, is it not?"

"Mal and Harry are soulmates I believe. They are and have always been drawn together and I truly believe they have lived a thousand lives together and this, just like all of those, should be spent in each others arms."

"Harry? Is this Mal's apparent soulmate?" Felicity questioned. "How long has this been going on? Did she cheat on you?"

"Cheat on me, gods above no! Mal and Harry have known each other since they were children. They grew up together and have always loved each other." Ben sighed. "And they're not apparently soulmates. They are soulmates and who am I to stand in the way of true love. Is true love not what we all aspire to have? The truth is Felicity, that what Mal and I share is no better than a comfortable friendship. She has never been as happy and a vibrant than she is when she is in the presence of Harry. I would like to take this opportunity to give them my blessings and remind everybody that a strong friendship still stands between Mal and myself."

"Are you upset King Ben?" Felicity probed. "Is this relationship too close to home?"

"I was upset about losing the companionship but now that I have spent some time with Mal whilst she is with Harry, I know that the girl I knew was only a shell of the true being and that Harry will go to the ends of the earth to provide the love Mal needs." Ben unconsciously flexed his bruised fingers as he answered the question.

"You said they had grown up together, is this Harry also a child from the Isle?" Felicity asked. "Possibly one of the most infamous and ruthless thugs on the Isle?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben could see Evie's face in the window of the classroom door. "If you would allow me to, I would like to show you something and I think it may answer any lingering doubts."

Ben lead the reporter and her small crew out of the classroom and through some hallways. Ben was following Evie but the news crew never noticed her. Instead, the camera and sound men were too focused trying to capture the interviewer who was walking backwards and firing questions to the camera.

"If you would like to follow me this way and to keep extremely quiet," Ben led them up a small flight of stairs and they emerged onto the small mezzanine balcony for one of the lesser used ballrooms. Ben put his finger to his lips and pointed down to the dance floor.

In the centre of the room were two figures, embraced in each other and they swayed to a non-existent beat. Suddenly, the smaller figure twirled away, her musical laughter echoing through the room. The man murmured something quietly as he pulled her back to his chest.

Ben didn't know if the couple knew they were being watched at that moment but Mal's magic swirled around them and lit the candelabras around the room, illuminating them in a golden glow.

Ben and the news crew watched, transfixed upon the scene, as the small figure cast another set of complex spells and hers and the taller figures clothing became elegant ballroom clothes.

Felicity watched as the taller figure, the man she was presuming to be Harry, bowed majestically to the girl she now knew to be Mal. Mal curtseyed back, the full skirts of her purple ball gown sweeping the semi-dusty floor.

Another shot of green light and soft music was playing through the air. Harry's arm snaked around Mal's waist as hers came around his shoulders. The pair began to move around in slow circles, closer than the dance called for but the moment was elegant and romantic.

"Is that Mal and Harry Hook?" Felicity whispered into her microphone before she held it out to Ben who was simply staring down at the scene. He nodded.

Harry lead Mal and the pair clumsily waltzed. Harry dipped Mal and pressed a soft kiss to the column of her neck as she leant back fully in his arms. Evie gingerly emerged onto the balcony and set a hand on Ben's forearm.

Suddenly, the couple on the dance floor were spinning around, sharing laughter and kisses. Mal had leapt into Harry's arms and he slowed to a stop, simply kissing the girl, making the news crew shuffle and cough.

It broke the spell and the couple were in their usual clothes in the middle of the unlit dance floor once again.

"Who's there?" Mal called out as Harry lowered her to the floor.

"That's all for your interview, Cogsworth will see you out."

-Ten minutes earlier-

"Where are we going Evie?" Mal asked once more, annoyed at being dragged along.

"In here, the news crew may film the two of you from out here but that won't be for another hour of so but you both have to stay in here, do you understand?" Evie pushed Mal into the dark ballroom and then slammed the door.

"What?" Mal asked but Evie simply waved her hand from the other side of the glass window.

"Mal," a deep voice said and Mal shrieked. "It's just me," Harry said and as Mal's eyes adjusted to the darkness in the large room, she could make out the pirate stood awkwardly in the centre of the dance floor.

"What's going on?" Mal walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him.

"The crew are going to film us talking or something in here I think," he replied, unwinding himself from the hug so that he could link her fingers through Mal's and walk towards one of the heavy, floor to ceiling curtains that was pulled over the gigantic windows.

The pair tugged the material aside as best they could from their low vantage point and a fraction of moon and starlight lit the room just enough so that they could easily see each other.

"Will you dance with me?" Mal asked quietly.

Back on the Isle, the pair would pretend to waltz around the hideout after a successful job or when they were slightly intoxicated. Mal hadn't enjoyed dancing freely like that since a few weeks before she had left for Auradon.

Harry hugged her close and the two swayed to a silent beat. He suddenly gripped one of her hands and spun her away from him, making her squeal with laughter.

"I wish I could see your face properly," he said as he pulled her back to his chest.

Mal complied with his wishes and whispered a spell to light the numerous candelabras around the ballroom. Eventually, there was a hazy, golden glow as the flames flickered in their waxy pillars.

"What about proper formal wear?" Mal asked and she said something else, making her eyes flash and her green magic envelop the pair of them. When it receded, Harry was wearing formal breeches and an inky black, tailored coat with a high collar and shiny gold buttons. Mal's simple sweatpants and t-shirt had transformed into a plum ballgown with layers of silky material.

Harry bowed, astounded at the magic and Mal curtseyed in reply. She then set some slow, classical music to play and the two gripped at each other as Harry lead them around the room without truly knowing what he was doing. Every so often they would kiss as they spun but for the most part they remained pressed tightly together as the weaved around the candelabras and other miscellaneous items around the ballroom.

Harry dipped Mal and she leant back, tilting her chin to allow the pirate to kiss his way down her neck. "I wanna do what Doug did. I wanna put a ring on your finger, set the Sailing Grace free and sail to a new world with you."

"I would like that," Mal whispered as Harry helped her straighten up.

"Wanna get married?"

"Not right now. I would prefer to sail around with you for a few years or so. But just know that you have my heart Harry Hook and one day we will be married upon the deck of your ship," she told him and his soft smile turned into a beaming grin.

"And I to you," he said. Suddenly Mal was in his arms and the pair were kissing and laughing and mainly kissing as they slowed to a complete stop.

Somewhere up above them, a cough echoed through the room. "Who's there?" Mal questioned and Harry slowly let her body slide down his until her toes touched the floor again. The shock of being caught had stopped the magic and they were dressed in their usual clothes in the quiet dark once more.

The sound of a door opening and closing echoed from above them and then the room was flooded with light. High above the dance floor on a small mezzanine, Evie stood near the light switches with a bright, beaming smile.

"Come on! News crews gone and its lights out so off to bed," she said through a wide grin.

"I'll walk you," Mal told Harry and the pair left with Evie, thinking no more about the news crew or Audrey outing their relationship as they had their friends and each other and thats all they ever needed.


	18. Chapter 18

December 17th

"What am I supposed to say!" Evie whimpered, bitting at the skin around one of her nails out of sheer nervousness. Mal and Lonnie both shrugged unapologetically, neither having been subjected to meeting their significant others' parents.

"Maybe stop eating your fingertips," Jane suggested sweetly from across the room. Evie groaned and threw her hands up, nearly poking Gil in the eye as he gently pushed past her into the dorm room.

Doug's parents, uncles and extended family had written to the couple and informed them they would be visiting and formally welcoming Evie into the family.

Evie, dressed in a spectacular winter design of her own creation, was stood in Jay and Carlos' dorm room doorframe, worriedly fidgeting with her long hair, dress, cloak, accessories or anything she could reach.

"Whoah, what's got you all in a tizz?" Gil asked as he sat down next to Carlos behind one of the desks. The pirate dropped an armful of folders down with a loud bang and it made the blue-haired girl refocus on her friends.

"Evie, Doug loves you, what does it matter if none of his family do?" Lonnie began and Evie's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, as though she hadn't even thought about the consequences of if she wasn't liked.

"Oh gods above," she whispered quietly.

"Nice one," Jane whispered sarcastically to a smirking Lonnie as Evie's panic visibly went up a notch.

"Yeah, I mean, if they did hate you and forbid the marriage, you and Doug could just poison the entire family and wait for them all to die," Carlos added cheekily which earned him a well-aimed slap from Jane.

"Carlos," Mal chastised but she was laughing at how worried Evie seemed to be. "E, listen to me. They will love you, I promise you. And if not, I've got a few spells that may help," Mal winked.

"Please don't use magic on my family," Doug was suddenly behind his fiancé and he kissed her cheek. "They're parking the cars so we should head down," he told her.

Evie looked both deathly pale and green at the prospect. "I don't know if I can do this. What if they really do hate me and we can't be together!" she asked, gripping Doug's arm.

Doug laughed and pulled her close for a hug which she melted into. "We will elope or change our identities or flee the city. I don't care what my family thinks of you Eve, I love you and that's enough for me and so it should be for them. Besides, we've got a very supportive family right here." Doug nodded towards the friends gathered in the room.

Evie looked from one person to another.

Mal with her glowing green eyes and crooked smile was sat on Carlos' bed, her fingers absently tracing a simple string bracelet Harry had given her as she smiled at her best friend.

Harry himself was sat on one of the window seats, the glass bottle with the Sailing Grace perched on the sill of the large windows which were dusted with snow and frost. He nodded when they locked eyes in a way that was almost encouraging.

Lonnie and Jay were laying on Jay's bed, both simply watching Evie process her emotions. Jay had an arm propped above his head and the other was behind Lonnie's head. They seemed in tune and on the same wave length as they cracked a smile simultaneously to ease Evie's nerves.

Jane was sat in front of roaring fire, laughing at something Gil had whispered to her from the desk. Gil and Carlos were sharing one chair and Carlos had an arm around Gil's broad shoulders in order to stay on the small chair. The two were attempting to go through some research for one of their shared classes but they seemed more interested in each other, Jane, and Evie's meltdown.

Evie took a deep breath and smiled at Doug. "You're right. If they like me, then its simply a bonus. We have all the support we need right here."

"Lame!" Jay called out and the engaged couple left the dorm room laughing, hand in hand and ready to face the family.

"5 coins says Doug's mother falls head over heels for Evie," Mal said and the bet was met with agreements and giggles.

December 25th

The majority of the student population left Auradon Prep over winter break to spend time and celebrate Christmas with their families. The only people who stayed behind were the VKs, Jane (as she and Fairy Godmother lived at the school) and Lonnie, who's mother was visiting some foreign delegations and had agreed that her daughter would enjoy her time more with her friends. Ben and his parents had gone to spend the holiday in one of their winter cabins.

On Christmas morning, Mal woke up in the arms of a man she knew loved her for her and she felt complete for the first time in years. The couple lazily made love until they were both hungry and felt as though they should venture out from Mal's dorm room and wish their friends well.

Mal and Harry went to Jay and Carlos' room, expecting either Jay and Lonnie or Carlos and Gil, who had slowly begun to test the waters casually.

Harry knocked on the wood, one arm slung over Mal's shoulders and his jaw dropped when Jane opened the door timidly in her night gown.

"Jane," Mal said slowly, discreetly elbowing the Pirate so that he would blink and close his mouth.

Jane's cheeks were tinged pink and she bit her lip. "Merry Christmas," she told the two. "Jay and Lonnie are in the, uh, the other room," she stammered, embarrassed and hiding behind the door.

"You okay?" Mal asked, ignoring the way Harry was craning his neck to look into the room.

"Hey guys, merry Christmas," Carlos said, suddenly appearing over Jane's shoulder. He was bare-chested and grinning widely but the smile faltered when he saw the expressions on his friends' faces. "Are you okay?"

"What's going on?" Gil's husky voice, thick with sleep, echoed from deeper in the room and that was enough for Mal and Harry to look to each other and then barge into the dorm room.

"She is a precious flower who should not be corrupted by you two scoundrels!" Mal accused, wagging a finger at the two boys.

"How did you do it? How is she here? I thought Godmother had her under lock and key? You said Godmother kept her under lock and key!" Harry said at the same time, rushing through the questions at a pace that was hard to understand.

"Huh?" Gil was snuggled up in one of the beds. It was hard to remember whose bed was originally whose as Jay and Carlos' room had become interchangeable for the friends. The duvet and bedding on the other bed was rumpled as though it had been slept in.

Lonnie, still in her pyjamas had followed the noise of Mal and Harry and opened the dorm room with a raised eyebrow. "What's with the shouting? Don't you know its Christmas?" she asked, drawing the accusatory stares from Mal and Harry to her.

Mal crossed her arms and she felt one of her eyebrows arch until Lonnie gasped.

"Oh gods above! You didn't!" she cried, calling for Jay over her shoulder.

The noise and commotion of Lonnie, Harry, Mal and Gil (albeit confusedly) shouting made Evie and Doug emerge from his room down the corridor to inspect the scene.

"Jay! You need to come and dispose of Carlos and Gil!" Lonnie called, glaring at the two boys as Evie and Doug entered the room.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" Doug panicked.

"Merry Christmas by the way," Evie added the greeting onto Doug's statements. She dropped a kiss on a confused Jane's cheek with only slight hesitation from her expression.

"Nobody needs to kill anybody!" Carlos cried, putting his hands up in defence.

"This is all just a big understanding... I think," Gil added, scrambling to move from the bed but Lonnie pointing and glared at him to remain still.

"Keep those hands where I can see them," she hissed as Jay's looming six foot figure towered in the doorframe.

"Why do they need to be killed?" Jay asked looking around the room.

"Yeah, why do they?" Doug asked, still unsure of the problem.

"Jane answered the door in her night gown," Mal began, indicating to the thick flannel dress Jane was wearing.

"Okay, that's not actually a criminal offence. Besides it being ugly, its practical because it's been snowing all night," Evie came to Jane's defence, ignoring the way Jane protested about her night shirt.

"But she doesn't ever sleep over," Doug wondered aloud. "Godmother won't let her because she thinks she-" he sucked in a breath, coming to the same conclusion as the rest. "Oh gods above!"

"What the hell is happening!" Gil snapped, flinching from the death stare Lonnie gave him.

"You've corrupted her ya tossers!" Harry was laughing at Gil's terrified expression.

"What?" Gil, Carlos and Jane said simultaneously.

"WHAT!" cried Evie and Jay, both seemingly horrified at the thought.

Jay surged froward and Carlos saluted over one of the beds to put distance between himself and the rest of the room.

"STOP!" Jane cried, holding her hands up in front of Jay. "Firstly, nobody had corrupted me, and if I had decided to engage in such an activity, I do not need you to rush to my defence in what I hope to be a consensual and loving act. Secondly, even if we had done anything of the sort, which I will remind you, we haven't, then that is our choice and you cannot go around killing people for it!"

Harry was snickering at the way Gil blushed and he glanced at Mal whose eyes were wide from the chastising.

"So the night gown and Carlos being half-naked?" Lonnie questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The fire had been roaring all night. Its bloody boiling in here," Carlos said with a deadpan expression, pointing to the flames in the fireplace.

"I came straight from breakfast with my mother. I tried everyones doors first and the boys were the only ones who answered. We've been playing snap, waiting for Gil and you lot to wake up," Jane sighed, exasperated. "I brought presents with me."

Everyone seemed to simultaneously register the sack of presents in the centre of the room on one of the desks.

"Sorry," everyone echoed, guilty at the situation.

"Why doesn't everyone get their presents and we can put this behind us?" Gil asked, prompting everyone to leave and return a few minutes later, still with guilty looks and armfuls of presents.

"We are never going to let them live this down are we," Carlos whispered into Gil's ear later that morning as they passed parcels from one to another, surrounded by their friends.

Gil grinned wickedly. "They are going to be tortured with this for the rest of their lives."

1st January

The friends enjoyed their first New Years' Eve together at the Snuggly Duckling. Ducky had generously said that any and all drinks were on the house for the friends and everyone had enjoyed themselves. Fairy Godmother had granted them the night off from the school premises and had allowed Jane to go as well, to everyones surprise.

By the time the second hand on the cuckoo clock behind the bar was counting down the last ten seconds of the year, the friends were in the arms of those they loved; happy, safe and slightly drunk.

As they and the noisy patrons of the pub cheered and wished each other 'happy new year', Jane pulled the two boys close, kissing them both to the best of her abilities. Harry and Mal kissed in the corner. Lonnie's legs were wrapped around Jay's waist and she cheered as he crowed once their lips broke apart. Evie was stood on the table, dancing against Doug who was laughing as she turned on her heel and pulled him in for a kiss.

"We graduate this year!" Jay called and the entire bar raised their glasses for the friends, wishing them well in for the following year.

"This is the year we set sail on the Grace," Harry whispered into the shell of Mal's ear as fireworks lit the pub up from through the mottled windows.

Mal smiled up at Harry, marvelling in the way his jaw and cheeks were lit by the red and green light.

"This is the year we can explore the world," she told him, wishing as the clock chimed midnight for this moment to last forever.

14th February

Jane nodded to the student sat upon a driftwood log with a harp perched precariously between his bent knees. His fingers traveled along the strings and a sweet melody began to play on the cove. He had been at a band practise not twenty minutes before and had been dragged to the beach by Harry with his hook digging in his back.

At one end of the beach that Harry has stumbled upon months previously, Doug was stood waiting nervously in a borrowed suit of Ben's. Harry patted Doug's shoulder in support. Gil, Carlos and Ben were stood a foot or two away, still intimate enough to hear Doug swearing under his breath, but far enough away to distinguish the fact that Harry was the best man. Doug's mother and father were stood close but they finished the other side of the half circle the group were stood in, opposite Fairy Godmother..

To the sound of the harp, and through the tree line, Jane and Lonnie emerged in the first dresses they had deemed suitable for the last-minute act. They walked arm in arm through the sand to stand near the boys, next to Doug's parents with wide smiles. The couple had decided to have a quiet, informal ceremony on the beach in front of their friends, Doug's parents and Fairy Godmother who was officiating the binding.

Dizzy dropped flower petals she had hurriedly picked as she closed the distance from the tree line to the congregation. She was still dressed in her sports kit as Evie had decided on the young girls' role last minute. Mal followed, dressed in a Cotillion gown Evie had made and kept from the event. She was clutching a large bouquet that sparkled with her magic, indicating that it was an illusion. She stood closest to Doug, still leaving a space for the bride.

"Oh gods," Doug said through a sigh as the bride appeared through the trees. She was smiling broadly with her long hair lifting in the sea breeze. Out from the coast, dolphins clicked and the waves crashed onto the sand with her every step.

The train of the baby blue dress created a strange pattern in the sand as it dragged behind her but nobody cared that it was dampening with sea water. Evie had been creating the dress for months, adding to it every few days or so and she had finished sewing it that morning.

"It's done," Evie sighed, almost shedding some tears as she set down her needle.

Mal put her book down and came to stand next to Evie, breaking into a soft smile as she took in the details. Mal had not payed the garment much mind over the months in stood on a mannequin in the centre of their dorm room as Evie seemed to add and change the design in a matter of moments.

"It's beautiful," Mal hugged her friend into her side.

She wasn't lying. The spells Evie had asked Mal to cast had added to the threads, making them glow bright in the sunlight and shimmer under inspection. There was a fitted bodice made of power blue lace with strategically placed boning, jewels and shells to hide Evie's breasts but Mal imagined that in the sunlight, Evie's tanned torso would be easily visible. There were also short lace sleeves that ended with brilliant detail at the elbow and a skirt of material that flowed into a modest train. Evie had left the back of the dress open and so Mal had suggested a sticking spell to keep the sleeves on the edge of the collar bones.

"Choose a dress from the rack that fits you and then you need to get everyone into smart clothes," Evie ordered, already pulling off her uniform.

"Huh?" Mal stuttered.

"Its finished so this afternoon I am getting married," Evie said, reaching up to unpin the dress from the mannequin. "You're going to be my maid of honour."

"Of course I fucking am!" Mal kicked into gear at the title. "What about class? We have biology in twenty minutes?" It was the final class of the day.

"Skip it, go tell everyone and tell Doug he's getting married tonight!" Evie ordered, pushing Mal from the room. "Make sure he calls his parents. I think they might murder us if we got married without them being at the ceremony."

So Mal had grabbed the first dress she saw from Evie's rail and tugged it on as she hurried out of the dorm to find her friends. She cast several cosmetic spells from the top of her head so that she looked presentable enough for the sudden wedding.

Mal stopped Jay and Gil going to the gym and sent them to help Evie get changed. She then found Doug and told him he was getting married and the man had jumped into action right away, as if he had been expecting Evie to decide today was the day.

"Jane!" Mal had shouted across the main corridor, alerting everyone to her appearance.

"You look very dressed up for algebra," Lonnie had said from her locker and Mal dragged her to meet Jane halfway.

"Evie and Doug are getting married this afternoon. You need to go and get ready and help set up whatever they have planned," Mal wheezed as she had been running around looking for everyone.

Lonnie squealed and rushed off, elbowing students so she could make it to the staircase leading to the dorms. "I can get my Mom to officiate!" Jane cried, also running through the stunned crowd of students.

"Has anyone seen Carlos or Harry?" Mal used her hands to make a megaphone and several students pointed to several classrooms.

"What's going on? Why are you dressed up?" Ben asked from over her shoulder and Mal whipped around quickly.

"Go and put on a suit. Actually, I think you may have to lend Doug a suit. He's getting married this afternoon so you need to skip whatever class you're heading to."

"Obviously," Ben said, a little dazed at the onslaught of information. "Right. Sure. Of course."

Mal pushed him in the direction of the staircase and then she put her head in every class, including the biology lesson she was supposed to be in. At the back Harry was sat with a scowl at being the only VK in the room. He usually had the class with Evie and Mal.

"Mal?" Mr Thatcher prompted at her appearance in his doorway. "Are you going to sit down or are you off to the ball?"

"I need Hook. We're going to a wedding," was all Mal said and Mr Thatcher nodded as though this was expected.

"Well Mr Hook, it seems you are needed," he said.

"Whose wedding?" Harry hissed as he stalked out of the room. "Ours?"

"No! Evie and Doug," Mal replied as they left the room. "Just need Carlos now. Hey! Carlos!" she cried, spotting him turning the corner.

"What?" Carlos called, looking sketchily at the couple.

"Wedding in twenty minutes, need to get changed," Mal didn't stop walking, she simply grabbed his wrist and dragged the two boys to their dorms to change.

"We need someone to play something as she walks down the aisle," Jane decided as everyone hurried around for last minute things.

"Band practise is on right now," was all Harry said and he left with a promise to be at the beach on time.

Doug's parents were at the school in record time and his mother was already crying as the rest of the boys besides Jay left to find a nice place on the beach, with Fairy Godmother leading the way.

In the setting sun, jewels in shades of blue sparked and refracted light onto Jay's suit as he walked the girl who was practically his sister to her place in the wedding party. He gave her cheek a kiss and placed Evie's hand in Doug's and joined Mal at the circle around the couple.

They exchanged vows and simple rings and sealed the bond with a kiss as the sun set and their friends and family cheered for them.

"Who thought we'd be at a wedding when we were eating lunch earlier?" Gil joked and the wedding party stayed on the beach, dancing around a bonfire and paddling in the sea until it was well into the night and they remembered it was only a Thursday and they still had classes the next day and needed to attend them if they wanted to graduate on time.

4th August

Mal fidgeted with the ratty string that was looped around her wrist. The red colour from the yarn had faded and bleed over the several months she had worn it and it was now a faded and dirty pink but she refused to cut the knot.

"Here," Evie handed a garment bag to her best friend. Her modest wedding ring glinted and she pushed Mal into the nearest cubicle in the bathroom they had locked with a spell.

Jane and Lonnie were also dressed in designs of Evie and they were finishing their hair and makeup in the large mirrors, singing along to the music playing from one of their phones.

"I can't believe today is the day we leave her," Lonnie said as she filled in her eyebrows.

"I know what you mean. It feels like it was yesterday we even arrived here," Evie laughed as she sipped on the straw in her wine glass that the girls had snuck into the school.

"Who would have thought we'd all be here this time two years ago," Jane looked at her friends through the mirror in front of her.

Mal emerged from the cubicle in a short pale purple silk dress. As her hair and make up were already done, the girls realised what was about to happen.

They left the bathroom, depositing their makeup bags and hair accessories back in Mal and Evie's room with the cases and trunks for the schools staff to move once the ceremony was over.

The four girls walked arm in arm to the main ballroom and meet their significant others and the rest of their friendship group. Jane was on the verge of tears and Evie sniffed every so often as the graduation ceremony began. It wasn't until Ben finished his speech that Mal and Evie began to cry properly.

Mal had one hand in Harry's and the other in Evie's as Fairy Godmother began to call their names. Unlike normal graduations, the class of the year was only small, nearly thirty students and so everyone was given an everlasting rose and yearbooks on the stage that had been erected at the front of the ballroom.

"And finally, the last student to graduate from Auradon Prep this year is Mal," Godmother beamed proudly as Mal, sniffing to halt her tears, joined her friends and classmates up on the stage.

She hugged Godmother as the headmistress passed her a scroll, amulet, the yearbook and the everlasting rose.

"I'm so proud of how far you have come," Godmother whispered into Mal's hair and the purple haired girl sobbed for a moment before she joined her friends, squealing into the group hug and the parents laughed.

Ducky and the usual rag-tag bunch of regulars from the Snuggly Duckling were stomping their feet and shouting for the patrons that had become regular fixtures to the usually quiet pub. The pub felt like a second home to most of them by now.

Doug's parents, David and Diana, had taken the rest of the VKs under their wing after the wedding and Mal could hear David and the rest of Doug's family whooping and whistling for the group. Everyone of Doug's uncles was shouting the entire groups names with pride and joy as those in the room clapped for their children and their achievements.

"To the first day of the rest of their lives!" Godmother called out and the ten friends hugged and tried to hold back the tears as they threw their graduation caps into the air.

They celebrated that night at the Snuggly Duckling and woke up to a cooked breakfast from Ducky.

5th August

Harry rolled the neck of the bottle between his thumb and forefinger, anxious about what they were about to do.

After graduation, only Jane could remain at the school as her family lived there, but the rest (and Jane by default) were now effectively homeless as their dorm rooms now belonged to new students.

"We don't have to if you don't want to mate," Doug reassured Harry but the pirate shook his head and handed the bottle to Mal.

"We need a place to live an' if I don't get that fucking ship out of that bloody bottle in the next five minutes I think am gonna go insane," the pirate growled, folding his arms and tensing his jaw.

"You know, we could just find a cottage somewhere," Lonnie suggested but Harry held up his hook to silence her.

"We've been through all of this. It's a massive ship and the four of us won't be able to sail it without a crew," Evie said. "Looks like you're stuck with us."

"Oh gods, what a shame," Gil had an arm around Carlos and he threw the other around Harry's shoulders. "Who on earth would like being stuck with their best mates for weeks at a time as we sail around the world."

"Not the world," Harry mumbled as Mal gave the bottle to Jay.

"Just throw it as far that way as you can," she instructed him, pointing in the direction of the end of the reef. Jay nodded and took a small run up to lob the bottle into the waves. The group watched as the bottle, now a tiny speck, bobbed in the surf far out from the cove.

Mal took a calming breath and chanted the reversing spell she had researched, throwing her hands out and sending her green magic across the waves in the direction of the bottle.

Everyone watched with bated breath as they lost sight of the bottle and Mal's magic simply faded.

"Oh fuck," Harry swore, balling his fist and hitting the back of his hook.

Nobody spoke for several moments until a mast rose from the waves and the Sailing Grace emerged from the waves, her sails completely dry as she seemed to expand in size until she was a fully fledged vessel off of the coast.

"Oh fuck!" Harry cried, rushing forward to press his lips to Mal's.

Everyone stood in shock at the size of the ship. It was a magnificent 40-gunner with ruby red sails with a elaborately carved naked woman holding a golden cup aloft as the figurehead. The group had placed all of their belongings (which Mal had shrunken down) into a knapsack on Doug's back.

"Come on, she's not anchored," Gil called out to the rest of the friends from the side of a small wooden boot with two oars. He restored to whistling when he realised Harry and Mal had not broken apart from their kiss.

"Hook! She's not anchored!"

"What the fuck are we waiting for then?" Harry replied, helping Mal into the boot and then pushing it from the sandy beach. He and Jay then began to row through the waves to the side of the Grace.

Gil talked Jane through and the pair tied the lifeboat to the vessels side so that they could climb up to the deck. Harry went first as everyone else' request as it was his ship and he should be the first to set foot on her.

Once on the deck, Harry went straight for the ship's large mahogany wheel as the wind whipped around his coat and through his hair. The other eight slowly made their way onto the starboard side of the deck with dazed eyes. The two pirates had been teaching their friends basic seaman skills since the New Year and they were confident that the nine of the could sail from the cove they had found near the Duckling.

"So Captain, what do we do now?" Gil called up from the deck.

Harry had been pouring over star charts and maps and had a predetermined course in mind. He grinned as Mal joined him at his side, settling a pirate's hat with a single red feather upon his curls. She smiled at him and he gave his crew the orders.

"Lower the main sail!"

As the friends set about following Harry's orders, using the knowledge that had gained over the months, Harry wrapped one arm around Mal's waist and sets the other on the wheel before him with a smile.

"Thank you," he whispered into her hair.

"This is our home Harry. We belong here," was all Mal said as she cast a spell and figures of green appeared and helped with the numerous tasks to get the ship sailing. One of the green figures helped Carlos tighten ropes and another set about with Jay in hauling the lifeboat up from the waters.

From the crows nest, Lonnie whooped and hollered as the wind caught in the sails and the ship began to glide through the waves, out towards the open ocean.

"We'll need to pick up more crew members. I can't keep this magic up for long, but for now, this is perfect," Mal told Harry as she went to help down on the deck.

"I love you," Harry told her and he saw the corner of her mouth quirk up.

"Marry me Hook," Mal replied as she descended the stairs.

Five year later

Mal climbed out of the wooden lifeboat with an intricately carved wooden box in her arms and her hand in his. She shook her head as she readjusted to the stillness of the earth under her feet. She heard the other two clamber out of the boat but she was too excited to turn and look.

She trudged up the small bank of sand and across the uneven pebbles until she was walking through a familiar forest and stood on the edge of a property she hadn't seen in in years.

Evie, with her swollen stomach was sat on a patio furniture set and the blue haired woman screamed when she saw who was come through her front gate.

"DOUG! They're here!" she cried, awkwardly coming to a stand from her previously reclining position. The two women rushed forwards and embraced as best they could around Evie's large pregnancy bump.

"I missed you so much! Seven months was too long!" Evie said as she pulled back only to hug Mal close again.

"We miss you too! Couldn't stay away much longer though, not with the baby nearly here," Mal told her best friend, dropping her free hand to the swell of Evie's stomach.

"Any day now," Doug said, emerging from the house they had stayed at as teenagers in which Evie and Doug now lived. "Everyone is inside waiting for you."

The two men hugged and took the luggage into the house with loved-up looks for their wives. Gil followed behind after he greeted Evie himself.

"Tell me about the Island then. Is this the new paradise?" Evie linked her arm through Mal's, glancing not so subtly at the box.

"It's for the baby and yes, I think it is," Mal laughed and began to tell Evie about the Island herself and Harry had sailed to since she had last seen the woman. "Anyway, I want to hear about you lot and the business. There's only so much video messaging will show me."

Inside the house, Harry was accepting a drink from Doug and saying hello to their friends who had journeyed back to celebrate Evie's baby shower and the imminent birth of the couple's first baby.

Jay and Lonnie, still together after all the years, were both travelling around Auradon and the surrounding kingdoms as they were now famous sports stars in their own rights. Both had decided that marriage was just a concept they didn't feel necessary and were as good as in the eyes of the law. They had also decided against having children, or at least having children at the ages of twenty four and twenty three. They were however, loving parents of three large mixed breed dogs who substituted as the couples children.

Jane was also in the kitchen welcoming her old friends. She was now an in demand advisor to both King Ben and numerous other celebrities. Jane exclusively managed all of her friends professional careers flawlessly. She was no longer the shy girl. She was now confident and a force to be reckoned with. Jane had also come into some small magical abilities; simple spells like ones to conjure heat and water, but when she had not been taken seriously in meetings at the beginning of her career, she had accidentally set her hand alight in a faux-threatening manner and she had secured a massive deal in a matter of minutes.

Gil was Harry's second-in-command and first mate and had remained with the couple since the moment the Sailing Grace had set off. He was invaluable to the ship and the crew they had amassed over the years. He edged past Harry and greeted the others with the same enthusiasm he always had. Gil quietly said hello to Jane, despite their romantic relationship having never gone very far. He, along with Mal, was hoping to reignite the flames as this was the first time the pair had been together for more than a day or two in years.

"Gil!" Carlos called from further in the living area. The two men rushed together and into each others arms. Like Jane and Gil's relationship, Carlos hadn't gotten much further with the pirate as he was constantly at sea and Carlos had based his life on land after several months of sailing with the crew.

Carlos had left the ship at one of the docks further south of Auradon and he had registered for a university placement which he had just graduated from six months prior. Carlos was now a qualified vet and he was in the early stages of setting up his own practise with a couple of other vet students who had been in his class at the University of Auradon.

"Hey," Carlos was blushing slightly.

"I'm back," Gil told him at the same time as Jane made it to their sides with two cups of drinks.

"For how long?" Jane asked him.

"Mal and Harry are buying a house a few miles away in the forest and they aren't going on another voyage for a year or so," Gil said in a rush.

"So..." Carlos said, holding back his enthusiasm incase something had changed.

"I'm yours if you'll have me," Gil told the pair. Jane and Carlos shared a shy smile.

Jane's broke into a grin. "Okay, but we take it slow. Romance each other alright," she proposed. The three moved to one of the sofas in the living area to catch up properly as Mal and Evie entered the house.

"Mummy! Mummy!" a small voice broke through the adults chatter. "Look, a fish with legs!"

"Where baby? Can you show me?"

"Here," the little boy said holding up his muddy hands to show an annoyed looking frog clutched between his small hands.

"Oh gods Finn," Mal bit back a laugh as Harry surged forward to steer the child back out of the house with the frog. Harry was especially conscious of the white and expensive fabrics Evie seemed to have decorated the home with, a far cry from the living quarters of the Grace.

"This is why we're enrolling him in primary school on dry land," Mal told Jay and Lonnie who were cooing at their godson.

At the ages of twenty, after they had been sailing around the globe and had collected the perfect crew, Mal and Harry found out they were pregnant. It was certainly a surprise and they had debated their options one night for hours and when the sun had risen, Harry and Mal decided to have the child aboard the Grace and continue to sail for the first few years before settling on dry land.

Finnlay Douglas Hook had been born a healthy 7 pounds exactly on Halloween in the Captains' quarters of the Grace surrounded by Gil, Evie and Doug, who had journeyed across the oceans to be there to welcome their godchild. Doug had cried when he heard the name Mal's heart had swelled with love the instant she saw her son in the arms of his father.

Five days later, when Mal felt strong enough, Gil (acting as the second-in-command) married Mal and Harry on the deck of their ship with their son in their arms and their two best friends on either side of them. As Finn grew, he became infatuated with the forests they would explore when they docked and the couple decided it best to continue raising their son on dry land.

"Its a frog kiddo," the pirate said as he turned Finn around. "Keep a good grip on him and we will put him back," he told his son as Mal and Doug howled with laughter at the pirates panic. "He's slimy like a cod so keep a good grip."

"Okay Daddy," Finn said, squeezing his small three-year old fingers until the frog croaked. The toddler squealed and instinctively dropped the animal which landed with a muddy thud on the carpet.

"Bloody fucking hell," Harry swore as the frog hopped around the kitchen to Finn's delight and Evie's horror. Eventually, all the adults bar Evie who was too pregnant to be chasing the animal, were on their knees or crouching in an attempt to herd the frog back out of the front door.

Finn was sat on Mal's lap, her arms encircling his body as he clapped and laughed at his dad and godparents chasing the frog which was leaving muddy stains on every surface.

"Go left!"

"No, he's going to you Jane."

"Shit, he hopped over me!"

"Quick!" Harry gently booted the frog towards Gil who had a wooden spoon in his hand and he sent the amphibian towards Doug who squealed as he pushed the frog out of the front door so Lonnie could close it.

"It's always something with us isn't it," Carlos laughed, clapping Jay on the back.

"Oh shit," Evie cursed, her fingers on her eyebrows.

"It's just mud Eve, it'll wash out," Jane said as the friends collapsed around the living area. Finn clambered from his mother's lap, across his father's to stand on Jay's.

"Not that. My water just broke," Evie said and the entire room was in a state of panic in seconds. Only Mal and Harry remained calm, as they had been through a pregnancy and subsequent brith before. The couple looked at one another.

"Love you," Mal said and Doug dropped to the floor in a dead faint.

"Love you too," Harry told her as Finn was deported in their arms as Jay rushed to kneel between Evie's legs, as if he was needing to catch the baby that very second.


End file.
